Then You Stand
by doodlegirll
Summary: ..:Sequel to LLIAM:.. Wilbur journeys into the future to find Krys after Lewis is mysteriously kidnapped, and the two must once again join forces with Wilbur's future self to save their existance while they still can! PLZ R&R! .:ON HIATUS TIL SPRING:.
1. Prologue

**Hiya, guys!**

**Well, I'm back with a new story! I know...didn't take long, huh:)**

**Well, let's just say I need something to occupy my time right now. I had to put my cat to sleep on Tuesday of this week, and I really, really need something to keep me busy. I know I'm going to be fine, because Junior isn't hurting anymore, but...it still hurts. Gotta keep moving forward:')**

**Anyway, like LLIAM before it, this story, too, has a theme song! I've already determined that Switchfoot's _Dare You to Move_ is at least one of this story's theme songs, and when I find more, I'll let you know!**

**Also, I tried really hard to make this prologue cryptic, but I'm pretty sure I failed miserably...**

**Please read and review!**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Meet the Robinsons (though I will own the DVD in six days!!!) but I do own Krys, Anthony Wilson, Kevin Jones, Cleo Wilson, Cassie, Nickolas, and Jess. All others belong to Disney!_**

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Then You Stand 

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Chapter One: Prologue

The mysterious dark figure shuddered as it pulled its coat tighter around its body. The November night was cold, and snow fell swiftly onto the ground around the figure as though it were white lint clinging to black velvet. It was already quite a few inches deep, and it crunched softly under the figure's steady footsteps.

The figure's dark eyes scanned the land in front of it. They could see the large dome of the old Anderson Observatory from where they stood about a hundred yards away; the light inside illuminating the snow-laden ground around the house which the figure knew the Robinsons called their home.

The sudden vibration of the figure's cell phone caused them to stop, pulling the small, silver phone from their coat and flipped it open, causing a very bright, small light to come on. The figure pressed 'talk' and brought the phone to their ear.

"Hello?" The figure asked in a low voice, giving away that fact that it was a man in his early twenties at least, no younger than eighteen but no older than twenty five.

"Anthony, have you got the kid yet?" Another man asked from the other end of the phone.

"Naw," The figure, now identified as twenty three-year-old Anthony Wilson, said. "I'm not even at the house yet. Why?"

"Cousin Cleo's getting pretty anxious. She wants to know where the hay you are." The other man on the end said.

"Well tell Cle to cool it. I had to park the car and trek uphill, and I'm almost at the house now. It looks like the kid's still awake, and I don't think it's such a good idea to just break in while he's still awake and kidnap him." Anthony said.

The other man groaned. "I'll tell her, but she's not going to like that."

"She'll get over it." Anthony replied. He looked back at the house. The light in the observatory suddenly clicked off, and Anthony smiled. "And you can tell her the kid's gone to bed, it looks like. I'm going in."

"Alright, Tony." Anthony's companion said. "Be careful."

"Don't worry, Kevin, I know what I'm doing." Anthony said. "I'll call you once I have the kid."

"'Kay, Tony." Kevin said.

With that, Anthony shut off his phone and stuffed it back in his coat pocket, setting his sights on the house in front of him. Upon reaching it, his dark brown eyes scanned the area for a place to enter, finally spotting a trellis on the side of the house that led up to the glass of the observatory, and Anthony could see that the part of glass it led to was actually a glass panel, which could be opened and closed like a window, and Anthony found himself hoping it was unlocked as he began to climb the trellis, also hoping it would hold his weight.

It did, and much to Anthony's delight, he found the panel unlocked as well. Opening it, he poked his head inside the warm observatory he knew served as the Robinson kid's laboratory, and listened.

Silence.

Anthony grinned to himself as he pulled himself into the observatory, carefully closing the glass panel behind him. He turned and walked right past the many inventions the young inventor had already concocted, and headed straight for the door.

Anthony carefully set his hand on the doorknob, as if he expected it to suddenly fling open at his touch, and after a moment, he turned it, stepping out into the staircase that would take him to the hall, where he hoped he would find the Robinson kid's bedroom.

He began to creep down the stairs, not bothering to close the observatory door behind him. He took each step by step, quiet as a cat. He finally reached the bottom and again waited, making sure all was well and everyone was asleep.

As soon as he was sure, Anthony began to try and locate the boy's bedroom, opening each door silently and peeking in just a little. He found the boy's parents sleeping soundly in their room, his mother snoring softly and he carefully replaced the door in its latch.

The next door Anthony came to he knew had to be the boy's. He carefully opened the door and peeked inside, smiling when his gaze fell on his unsuspecting, sleeping target. Anthony opened the door just enough to where he could slip inside, then closed it to where it was only slightly ajar.

Anthony quickly removed a handkerchief from his back pocket as he slowly made his way towards the sleeping fourteen-year-old Lewis Robinson.

Lewis had, apparently, left his observatory and gone straight to bed, considering his glasses were still perched on his nose, and he was still in his clothes. It looked like he had fallen asleep where he fell, and he hadn't even bothered to kick off his shoes. Anthony nodded his approval at this; it made his job a whole heck of a lot easier.

Anthony finally made his way to the side of the kid's bed and watched him for a minute, making sure he wasn't going to wake up, his slow and steady breathing fogging the boy's glasses slightly.

Lewis, half conscious, must have felt Anthony's breath on his face, and his eyebrows knitted together from annoyance.

"Wilbur, if that's you, I don't know how you got in here, but you'd better – " Lewis said as he opened his eyes to find not his best friend and future son hovering above him, but a hooded, complete stranger. Lewis opened his mouth again to scream, but Anthony clamped his hand down hard on his mouth, pinning Lewis to the sheets of his bed.

Lewis's muffled screams behind Anthony's hand made Anthony stop to listen and make sure no one had heard the boy scream, and once he was sure they hadn't, he looked back at Lewis, who was writhing at the bed, trying to get away from his attacker.

"Shut up!" Anthony hissed. "Stop moving!"

Lewis stopped moving and screaming, due to surprise that Anthony had actually spoken. He looked at the man in front of him with wide eyes, wondering vaguely who he was and what he wanted with Lewis. Anthony listened for another minute or two, then said to Lewis,

"I'm going to let go of you. If you scream, I swear you'll regret it." He said.

Something from the way he said it made Lewis gulp and nod. Something inside him told him it was best to not try and fight this guy – after all, he was older and bigger than Lewis, and he was sure he was stronger, too. Anthony removed his hand from Lewis's mouth and dragged the boy off of his bed and forced him to stand.

"Who are you?" Lewis ventured to ask. "What do you want?"

Lewis's only answer was Anthony tying a gag around Lewis's mouth, between his teeth. The gag tasted bad, and Lewis suddenly knew what was going on: he was being kidnapped.

After Anthony was sure the gag was secure, he proceeded to take yet another large handkerchief from his back pocket and use it as a rope to tie the boy's wrists together. He tied it tightly, ensuring there was no way Lewis could get loose, and he hissed in Lewis's ear,

"Walk. Don't scream."

Lewis did as he was told and began to walk, with Anthony's hands clamped down on his wrists tightly, making sure he didn't try and escape. Anthony carefully opened the door again, poking his head into the hall and listening.

The only sound he heard was the soft hum of the heater below his feet.

Anthony shoved Lewis out the door and continued to force him to walk slowly and quietly down the hall, past Bud and Lucille Robinson's bedroom and various other rooms, towards the lab.

Just as they were almost to the lab, Anthony suddenly hit his foot on a table that stood against the wall and he let out a loud yelp of pain as he muttered curses under his breath.

"Cornelius?" Anthony froze at the sound of Lewis's mother's voice. "Is that you?"

Anthony listened carefully for a minute. He guessed she must be at her doorframe and not walking out in the hall, because he heard no footsteps. He turned to Lewis.

"I'm going to ungag you, but just long enough so you can answer her, got it?" He said. Lewis, eyes still wide with fear, nodded. "You scream and you'll regret it." Anthony threatened again and Lewis nodded. Anthony untied the gag from around the boy's mouth and Lewis spit and sputtered for a second.

"Cornelius?" Lucille asked again.

"Yeah, Mom?" Lewis asked, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's alright, Mom. I just hit my foot on the table while on my way up to the lab. I forgot something up there."

"Oh, alright, sweetheart." Lucille said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Mom." Lewis answered. "I-I love you." He added, trying to keep the tears back. He didn't know if this would be the last time he would ever talk to his mom, and he wanted her to know he loved her.

"I love you, too, son." Lucille said. "See you in the morning."

"Okay." Lewis said. "Night."

With that, Lewis and Anthony heard Lucille's door click shut, and after a moment, her snoring resumed. Anthony wasted no time tying the gag back around Lewis's mouth, and he pushed him towards the staircase. They cautiously started up the stairs again, and before too long, they were back in Lewis's lab.

Anthony shoved Lewis towards the glass panel, and, keeping one hand clamped down on Lewis's wrists, opened it.

"Swing out and jump." He commanded. Lewis hesitated for a moment, but then did as he was told and jumped from his window, landing with a heap in the cold snow with a muffled "oof!"

Before he knew it, Anthony was hauling him to his feet by his shirt and forcing him to walk through the snow-filled air towards the end of the hill where Lewis knew part of his driveway was located. He slipped and slid a few times in the wet snow, only to have Anthony haul him back to his feet quickly, forcing him to keep moving.

Finally, the two reached the road, and Lewis could vaguely make out a car on the cold, snow blanketed driveway. Anthony quickly opened the backseat of the car and shoved Lewis in. He slammed the door closed and climbed into the backseat. He immediately revved up the engine, having left the keys in the ignition for a fast getaway, and put the car in reverse. He slammed on the break, and the momentum of it pinned Lewis to the backseat.

Anthony quickly did a backwards U turn, then put the car in drive. He floored the gas pedal and Lewis was lucky he wasn't sent into the floorboards from the force of the thrust forward.

After a second, Lewis pushed himself up onto his knees as best he could (without the use of his hands) and looked out the back window. He watched as the house he called his home bounced out of view as Anthony drove downhill.

"Get down." Anthony hissed, looking in the rearview mirror. "And stay down."

Lewis, obviously not wanting to get on his kidnapper's bad side, did as he was told and laid down on his stomach in the backseat of the car.

_Where is this guy taking me? _Lewis thought. _And more importantly, what does he want with me?_

Anthony looked into his rearview mirror once again. "You might as well get some sleep, kid, and say goodbye to your little family back there. You won't be seeing mommy and daddy for a very long time."

Lewis tried to say something back, but once again, the gag prevented it.

Anthony paid no attention to Lewis's replies and flicked out his cell phone once again. He pressed a couple buttons and then put the phone up to his ear. Lewis listened intently from the backseat, trying to catch whatever he could from the conversation.

"Kevin? Hey, it's Anthony. I've got the kid. Tell Cleo we'll be in town in a couple of days." He paused a minute. "Yeah, Donna is waiting with the plane in town." He paused again. "Alright, Kev, talk to you later. Bye."

Anthony looked into the rearview mirror once more. "Take my word for it and get some sleep, kid." He said. "You're going to need it. You've got a long journey ahead of you."

With that, he turned his attention back to the road in front of him.

Lewis breathed in and out steadily, trying to keep himself calm. Somehow, he knew everything would be alright, and that Anthony was wrong and he would see him family a lot sooner than Anthony and his partners – Kevin, Cleo, and Donna – knew it. He didn't know how, but something inside him told him he would be rescued.

Lewis's mind wandered back to his parents back at home, and he felt a pang in his heart. He knew they would be worried about him, and would be frantic when they found him missing. They might think he ran away, not wanting to be a Robinson anymore after being one for a little over two years, and had decided to pursue his preteen dream of finding his real mother.

The mere thought of this brought tears to Lewis's eyes. _No._ He said to himself. _They know you would never do something like that. _

Lewis suddenly remembered something very important.

_Anthony left the lab door and the window open! They'll come looking for me and find it open, and hopefully it won't snow enough to cover our footsteps. They'll know someone kidnapped me and they'll call for help! _

_But what if they can't find me? What will I do then? _Lewis shook his head at the thought.

_You **will** be found. _He told himself. _Have faith. _

With that, Lewis closed his eyes and let himself fall into an uncomfortable sleep as the Robinson home finally faded into a tiny speck on the hills in the horizon.

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**Well? What do you think?**

**Um...I have a small problem. While I'm pretty sure I have a good idea as to what I want the reason for Lewis's kidnapping to be, I want hear your suggestions. If you have any ideas, lemme know! Why do you think this Cleo Wilson has had him kidnapped? Please tell me! I've got cookies!**

**Please review!**

**-Robi**


	2. A Mystery Revealed

**Wow...it took me forever to update this, huh? I went down to number 20 on the fics list, and that's a record for me! **

**But I have an alibi! I've been really busy with school lately (my neighbor wasn't kiddin' when she said my sophomore year would be my hardest!) so I haven't really had much time to work on this, but I promise I'll try to update this weeked, but it might be sometime next week before I update, considering my mother and I are getting babtized at church on Sunday and Saturday, I have a friend coming over to stay the night and a Halloween blog party to host...**

**Anyway, enjoy, and please review!**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own MTR, thought I do own it on DVD! All characters from the movie belong to the Walt Disney Company, but I do own Krys, Cassie, Nickolas, Jess, Anthony, Donna, Cleo, and Kevin!_**

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Chapter Two: A Mystery Revealed 

----Robinson House, the next morning----

Something wasn't right.

Wilbur knew it from the moment he stepped foot out of the invisible prototype time machine into the cold November 2009 air.

About five police cars were parked outside the Robinson house on the snowy lawn. The front door to the house was wide open and Wilbur wasted no time racing up the hill towards it, running through the doorframe.

"Mrs. Robinson!" He called out. "Mrs. Robinson, where are you?"

Wilbur ran around the corner and into the kitchen, where he found a teary-eyed Lucille and a worried Bud Robinson, both still in their pajamas. Five or six policemen stood around them, and one was taking notes on a notepad.

"Wilbur!" Lucille said, her voice filling with relief at the sight of a familiar face. Wilbur opened his mouth to talk back, but a hand clamped down hard on his shoulder and he was pulled away from the Robinsons.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing here?" A police officer asked in a gruff voice as he pulled Wilbur through the door. "You can't be here; this is a potential crime scene!"

"Crime scene? What?! Let me go!" Wilbur said.

"Wait, officer, let him go!" Lucille said, coming to Wilbur's aid. "He's our son's best friend."

The officer looked from Lucille back to Wilbur, and let him go.

"What's going on?" Wilbur asked, looking back at Lucille.

"Cornelius is gone!" Lucille said. "We woke up this morning and we couldn't find him anywhere! He wasn't in his room or the lab!"

Wilbur cocked an eyebrow quizzically. "That's not like Lewis." He said.

Bud nodded. "We were hoping maybe you knew where he was, but we weren't sure how to get a hold of you."

"Believe me, Mr. Robinson, I'm pretty hard to get a hold of." Wilbur said. "And no, I haven't seen Lewis since I was here last week."

The Robinsons' faces fell.

A police officer saw this as an opportune moment to intervene, and he stepped forward.

"Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, when was the last time you saw your son last night?" He asked.

"Well, he woke me up around three AM last night hitting his foot on a table outside of the staircase on his way to get something from the lab. I asked if he was alright, and he told me he was, and I didn't think of it anymore and went back to bed. Our son is one hundred percent trustworthy, and it's just not like him to leave like this!"

The officer scribbled this down on a notepad and nodded. "Mrs. Robinson, would you mind if we took a look at your son's room and lab?"

Bud shook his head. "Not at all." He said. "Right this way."

Bud led a few of the police officers from the room and down the hall. Wilbur followed close behind. He followed two policemen up the stairs to Lewis's lab, where the lab door was still open, and cold air hit them like a freshly formed snowball in the back of the head.

"This is his lab." Wilbur said.

"Are you sure?" One of the two policemen asked. Wilbur cocked an eyebrow.

"Uh, hello, best friend, remember?" He said. "Of course I'm sure!"

The policeman just shrugged and walked inside the freezing observatory Lewis called his lab. Wilbur glanced around. He could see his dad had completed a few more inventions, some of which Wilbur had never seen before, and Carl's prototype lay on a desk in the corner. Nothing seemed to be disturbed, and aside from the fact that the window was wide open in the middle of winter, everything was pretty normal.

Wait.

_The window wide open? In the middle of winter?_

Wilbur's eyes widened as he rushed over to the window and looked down. Below, he could see two sets of footprints – one smaller, obviously Lewis's, and one bigger.

"Guys!" He said to the police officers at Lewis's desk. "I think I found something!"

The officers wasted no time hurrying over to where Wilbur stood. "What is it?" One asked. Wilbur gestured to the open window.

"The window's open, and I know for a fact Lewis would never leave it open like that on purpose. And there are footprints outside the window, too!" Wilbur said.

Sure enough, when the policemen looked down, they saw the footprints Lewis and Anthony had made the night before leading away from the house. One of them pulled out a walkie talkie.

"Hey, Max, I think we found something. I think we're looking at a kidnapping here."

"'Kay, Sam, thanks." Came the reply back.

"Kidnapping?!" Wilbur said, his eyes widening. "You think Lewis was kidnapped?"

The officer known as Max nodded. "Yes." He said. "But we'll worry about that later. For right now, the most important thing to do is tell his parents and follow those footprints!"

Wilbur nodded and raced down the stairs. He ran past the kitchen where Lucille and Bud sat alone, trying to console each other, and out the door. He ran around the back of the house towards the trellis that led up to Lewis's panel window.

Wilbur could see that Lewis – or whoever had kidnapped him – had fallen on the way down the trellis, or had jumped and landed in a heap. His eyes quickly scanned the snow-blanketed ground in front of him, following the two set of footsteps across the Robinson yard.

He took off running in the direction the footprints led, not stopping until he reached the end of the trail at the driveway. He could see that whoever had taken Lewis had been in a hurry from the looks of the tire prints in the snow. He could see that they had done a backwards U turn, and then had sped off, and the tire tracks from the kidnapper's vehicle mingled with the police car tracks, causing the trail to go cold.

Wilbur quickly turned and ran back the way he had come; back up the hill, towards the house. He found Max and his partner examining the two sets of footprints in the snow where he had started.

"They go down to the driveway." He said, stopping in front of them to catch his breath.

Max nodded. "Thanks, kid. At least we're sure of what we're looking at now." He said. "Do me a favor and go and tell my buddy Sam that we're going to track the prints as far as we can, okay, kid?"

Wilbur nodded, turned, and walked back around the house to the still-wide open front door. He walked into the kitchen where he found Lucille in tears, crying into Bud's shoulder as Bud tried to console her.

"Don't worry, honey, they'll find him. Cornelius is a smart kid; I'm sure he'll be fine." He looked up and saw Wilbur, who looked at his future grandparents with a worried look on his face. Bud smiled and sighed. Lucille looked up towards Wilbur. She and Bud smiled before motioning Wilbur over to them. Wilbur hesitated for a minute before walking towards them. The Robinsons both enveloped him in a family hug, all three feeling the exact same thing: Worried for Lewis and his safety, confused as to why someone would kidnap him, and questioning where he was.

"What are we gonna do?" Wilbur asked.

"The only thing we can do." Bud said. "We'll wait it out. The police are doing all they can at the moment. It's not like they can track him with a microchip. All we can do is hope and pray he's alright and that the police will find him."

As Bud's words seeped into his brain, an idea suddenly hit Wilbur. Maybe _they_ couldn't track Lewis with a microchip, but Wilbur knew someone who could!

"That's it!" Wilbur said, stepping back and out of the group hug.

"What's it, Wilbur?" Lucille asked. Wilbur turned around to face her quickly.

"I think I know someone who can help us." He said. "I'll be right back."

With that, he turned on his heel and ran out of the Robinson house and back down the hill, where the invisible prototype time machine still waited. Wilbur quickly hopped in, closing the hatch as soon as he did so. He started the engine and punched in a date on the keypad.

November 19, 2067

"If Krys can't help me find Lewis, no one can!" Wilbur said as he flew off into the cloudy sky and the time-travel bubble formed itself around the time machine. With a small thrust of speed and a familiar flash of light, Wilbur disappeared from 2009 and rocketed through the timestream towards his future.

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**Hm...I can't help but hope Wilbur was in character here! I've never had ANY problems keeping him in character, teenager or adult, but I wasn't sure how he might react to hearing his father's past self had been kidnapped without panicking, so...yeah...**

**Please review! Frankie needs something to blog about!  
-Robi**


	3. Spreading the News

**Holy crap! I am SO sorry it took so long to update this! I've been going through a small depression over Junior's death, but I'm really all better now, since I have a new little five-month-old cat named Jake (I totally went Carl on him and call him "Little Buddy") to keep me company and inspire me:) I sort of just lost my modivation to write for a small while and spent more time surfing YouTube than anything, but I'm back up and running now!**

**BUT. **

**Since it is now officially November and Christmas carols are officially playing 24/7 on at least one radio station, I'm going to put this story on a short hiatus so I can get back to work on _The Year Without a Wilbur_. I might update this again before I update TYWAW, but I don't really know... -shrugs-**

**Anyway, sorry again, and please review!**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own MTR, and the Invisi-Belt belongs to RockDiva. Thanks for letting me use it!_**

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Chapter Three: Spreading the News

----2067---- 

Wilbur landed the time machine quietly behind the Robinson Mansion in 2067, turning on the invisibility and hopping out into the snow. A light snow fell around him as he began searching for a way into the building.

Wilbur finally spotted what he was looking for: a small door on the side of the house he recognized as Jess, Krys's pet lioness's, catdoor.

"Perfect!" Wilbur said, grinning and running towards it. He put his hand up to it to make sure it would still open and wasn't locked for the winter, and much to his relief it swung at his touch. Wilbur ducked his head slightly and pushed the flap away, revealing the den where Jess sometimes slept.

"Now to find Krys…" Wilbur said, cautiously walking out into the hall. He knew from his previous adventure into his future that Krys's room was near the library. Wilbur began to jog down the hall, his almost-black again (after having been spray-painted pink by Krys for reading her diary) Converse shoes squeaking as he did.

As he rounded the corner, he realized the living room was up ahead. He stopped and listened for a minute, recognizing the voices of Art and his mother, Franny. Wilbur couldn't really make out what they were talking about from his heart pounding in his ears, and he waited until they had gone before he yanked off his loud squeaky shoes and continued on his journey through the winding halls.

----Krys's Room----

Krys, meanwhile, was busy piecing together the last modifications she was making for Jess's collar. The modifications would make it so that the doors to Jess's catdoors would open when she was about a foot away by sending a radio signal, much like an old fashioned garage door opener, so that Jess wouldn't have to push the flap back each time.

Recently, Krys's little cousin, Nickolas, had learned that it was fun to go through Jess's doors, imitating a cat, like he had seen Jess to plenty of times, but it wasn't until Krys's dad had offered to watch Nicky while Tallulah and Carl went out and had pretended to be a cat in an effort to entertain the toddler did he go through the flaps himself. Tallulah hadn't been too happy when she and Carl had gotten home, while on the other hand, Carl hadn't been surprised in the least that it had been Wilbur that introduced Nicky to the catdoors.

Krys grinned at the memory as she continued to screw the tiny screws into the collar. She still wished she had had a picture of her father's face when Tallulah saw what her cousin had taught her adopted son to do. It had been a mixture of ten different things, but Krys could sum it up in one word: guilty.

"Almost done, Jess." Krys said to the lioness, who was dozing peacefully on Krys's bedroom floor. "Just a few more screws and I'll be finished!"

Jess let out a small purr to let Krys know she had heard her. Krys turned her attention back to finishing up Jess's collar, humming along to the Christmas carols Krys had playing on her computer. Krys was so intent on finishing her task that she didn't notice when Jess suddenly lifted her head from her paws and looked towards the door, nor did she notice when Jess got to her paws and run silently out the catdoor that lead to the hallway.

"Alright, Jess, that's it!" Krys said, finally setting down her screwdriver. "Now let's – " Krys turned to her beloved pet only to find her gone. "Jess?" She called. "Jess?"

Suddenly, there was a girlish shriek from somewhere outside her door. Krys quickly ran towards her door and threw it open. "Jess!" She called as she did. "Jess!"

As Krys rounded, the corner, she stopped short. There, right in front of her, with her Jess licking his face furiously, was her father's younger self. He was, as usual, protesting up a storm while trying to push the huge cat off of him with no avail.

"_Wilbur?!_" Krys said, grinning. She hadn't seen her father's younger self – or her grandfather's, for that matter – in three months. She wondered vaguely why Lewis wasn't with Wilbur as usual, but she quickly shook it off.

"Krys, a little help here!" Wilbur said. Krys quickly hurried over to her best friend's side and pulled Jess off of him to the best of her ability without Jess's collar. She finally hauled her away and commanded her to sit.

Wilbur stood and brushed himself off. He gave an annoyed glance at Jess, then looked back at Krys.

"What are you doing here?" Krys asked, still grinning.

"Oh, I was just in the timestream and thought I'd drop by." Wilbur said, finally flashing his cocky grin. Krys raised an eyebrow.

"Uh huh." She said.

"Actually, I came to ask for your help." Wilbur said, his voice losing its sarcastic edge for a minute. "Lewis has been kidnapped!"

Krys's eyes widened. "What?!" She nearly screamed.

"Sh! Do you have to let the whole family know I'm here?" Wilbur asked.

"They're going to find out anyway!" Krys said. "What happened?"

"I don't know. All I know is the kidnapper broke in sometime between three AM and morning and got in through a window in Lewis's lab." Wilbur explained.

"Did they leave any clues?" Krys asked. Wilbur shook his head.

"None." He said. "All they left was some footprints in the show."

Krys let out an aggravated huff and began to pace the hallway. "We've gotta tell Dad, I mean, you!" She said. Wilbur considered this for a minute, then nodded.

"That's a good idea. I thought maybe we could track him with his tracking device!"

"Then let's get going!" Krys said. She looked at Wilbur's feet. "And you might want to put your shoes back on." She added with a smirk, noticing that the pink spray-paint she had painted his shoes with after she had found his fingerprints on her diary still hadn't worn off.

"Haha, very funny." Wilbur said, catching onto the subject of his shoes. "It's taken me forever to wash these things! I don't think they'll ever be the same again!"

"Good." Krys said. "You deserve it for reading my diary, mister! I warned you that if you read my diary I'd paint your shoes pink, and I wasn't exaggerating!"

"I noticed." Wilbur grumbled as he tugged on the shoes and quickly tied them. "Now let's go."

With that, the two teens took off jogging down the hall towards the living room, Jess at their heels.

----Unknown location, 2009----

A sudden jostle in the road brought Lewis from his uncomfortable sleep in the back of Anthony's car. He groaned as he closed his eyes again and tried to go back to sleep. His arms ached from being tied behind him for over twenty-four hours, and his mouth was dry, the gag still tied between his teeth. The blanket Anthony had thrown over him to hide him was beginning to get a bit stuffy. He shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable, but he knew it was no use. He groaned again and tried to sit up.

Anthony saw this from the front seat in the rear-view mirror and quickly reached a hand back to shove Lewis down.

"Stay down, kid." He commanded. "Stay still. And keep that blanket on top of you."

By the way he said it, Lewis knew he was better off doing what Anthony said. Anthony sounded irritable, most likely from driving who-knows-how-many miles for who-knows-how-long, and the last thing Lewis wanted to do was get Anthony angry at him.

"Not much longer now, kid, and you'll be allowed to move again." Anthony said. "Then I'll be able to get some sleep." He added under his breath.

Lewis barely heard him. He was too busy thinking. He still couldn't help but wonder what this Cleo Wilson wanted with him and why she would go so far as to hire someone to kidnap him in the middle of the night from his own room.

Lewis's thoughts wandered back to his family. Where his parents alright? Where they looking for him? Lewis knew they were, and he hoped they were doing fine. Lucille was probably baking excessive cookies, something she did when she was worried. Lewis smiled despite the gag in his mouth at the memory of when he had fractured his ankle about a year before when Wilbur had showed up in the time machine with what he called the Invisi-Belt and tripped him when he was still invisible. Lucille had gone crazy with the cookie making, and it had taken weeks for them to eat all the cookies, even with the help of Wilbur and his bottomless stomach.

Lewis's eyes widened at the thought of his future son and future family. How was his kidnapping affecting the future? Surely Wilbur would have told him about something as serious as getting kidnapped, which meant it had either never happened before, or everything was going to turn out alright.

Part of Lewis tried to assure him Wilbur hadn't told him of this because it was all going to turn out alright in the end, but the other half told him it was because it had never happened before, and that it was having serious affects on the future. What if Wilbur had disappeared again? And if so, what did that mean for Lewis's future granddaughter, Krys?

"Wilbur. Krys." Lewis said through the gag. He couldn't help but hope that everything was alright with his best friends in the future.

It was then that Lewis remembered Wilbur's future, and what he was in charge of. The TCTF. A small spark of hope rose in Lewis. It was small, but it was still a spark. If this had never happened in the past before, then the older Wilbur would know when Agent Cali ran a time scan. Lewis knew it would most likely be Krys that was sent out to help him, if there really was something wrong in the timestream. And, knowing Krys, she would probably stop and get Wilbur, too.

Lewis smiled as he remembered the adventure he had had with the future father-daughter duo that were undoubtedly his best friends. Comforted by the memories of the future, Lewis closed his eyes and let sleep overcome him.


	4. Code Blue

**Whoa...has it really been since November since I last picked up this story? -whistles- Time flies, huh?**

**Anyway, the reason I'm updating this and not TYWAW (_like I promised, I know, I know. I'm so bad. _-smacks self-) is one reason and one reason only: I've missed this story! It's my favorite to write right now, and I was seriously about to combust from not writing this! I'm so so so so so so so so so sorry it wasn't TYWAW, but the Christmasiness sorta left me...heh...**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter! Oh, and if you're interested, I have a pic of Krys my friend Stacy (Secretwindow1) drew for me back in September posted in my profile! Then _Elvenstar Imrahil _drew a sketch of Krys's time machine, but I have yet to dig it out of my inbox because I was stupid and didn't save it to my pictures when she emailed it to me. :( Anyway, I'll let you know when that gets put up, too!**

**Now, onto the update!**

* * *

Chapter Four: Code Blue 

----TCTF Headquarters----

43-year-old Wilbur Robinson yawned as he stepped under the travel tube that would take him to his office. It was only eleven o'clock in the morning, but already he felt like he had been working for two days.

Agent Cali had informed him early that morning of a problem in the Victorian era, Middle Ages, and the Old West, and Wilbur had led two of his agents to the Middle Ages, where they had had to stop a thief from stealing a someday-important artifact from a church and throwing it in the bay. It had worked, and Wilbur and his team had managed to get the job done and back in the future without any problems, but the chase had still taken them a while.

Ever since his father had invented the time machine when he was eight years old, Wilbur had learned that the natural order of the timestream had gone a little…tipsy, as his father had put it in terms that little Wilbur could understand. Because the time machine had the ability to travel to any time period, small things in history were changed, but not enough to radically change things, but they were enough to change some things in the timestream, like what the effect on something could have on someone, like today's episode.

Wilbur sighed as he slumped down into his desk chair for a minute. He closed his eyes and relaxed. Just as he was about to drift off, the sound of the travel tube dropping someone off and hurried footsteps coming towards him brought him back into reality.

"Dad!" Krys said as she neared her father. "Dad, wake up!"

Wilbur sat up and looked at his daughter in alarm. Judging from the desperate tone of her voice, Wilbur guessed it was pretty important.

"Krys, what's wrong?" He asked. "Is everything alright?" He looked over her shoulder, cocking an eyebrow at the sight of his younger self.

"Lewis has been kidnapped!" Krys said.

"Krys, hold on, what do you mean Lewis has been kidnapped?" The older Wilbur asked.

His younger self spoke up. "We mean what we said! I went back to see Lewis and I found a bunch of cop cars parked on the front yard and when I asked what was going on they said they had a possible kidnapping on their hands! I looked in the lab and found a window open and then some footprints in the snow, but we weren't able to follow them the whole way."

"So Wilbur came here to get help!" Krys said.

Older Wilbur looked at his younger self. "Does the family know you're here?"

Younger Wilbur shook his head. "Krys and I came on our own."

"Then the first thing we're going to do is let them know you're here." Older Wilbur said. "Then I'm going to have Agent Cali run a time scan to see how serious this is." He pressed a button on his desk. "Agent Cali." He said.

"Yes, Captain?" Agent Cali's holographic image appeared above the button Wilbur had pressed.

"I need you to run a time scan." Older Wilbur said. "I think we have a Code Blue on our hands."

Agent Cali nodded. "What time period?"

"2009." Older Wilbur said. Agent Cali nodded again.

"I'll get right on it."

"Thanks. We'll be down in a minute." With that, Older Wilbur hit the button again and Agent Cali's hologram disappeared. Wilbur hit another button on the desk.

"Cassie." He said.

Within a minute, Cassie Robinson's hologram appeared.

"Wilbur, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Cassie, tell the family we have a potential Code Blue on our hands, and that Krys and my younger self are here at headquarters."

"A Code Blue?" Cassie's voice and face filled with worry.

"Lewis has gone missing, Mom!" Krys said, stepping beside her father. "Wilbur showed up looking for me to find help!"

Cassie's eyes widened. "I'll tell the family, then get over there as quick as I can." She promised.

"Thanks, Cassie." Older Wilbur said. "See you then."

Cassie nodded and disappeared.

Older Wilbur turned back to the two teenagers beside him. "We'd better get down to the scanner room."

Younger Wilbur and Krys nodded, following Older Wilbur to the travel tube in the corner. They soon found themselves standing in the main lobby, heading towards yet another set of travel tubes, stepping under the one labeled "Scanner Room."

Once they found themselves in the scanner room, Older Wilbur directed them both towards a woman with dirty blonde hair that they both recognized as Agent Cali, who ran a lot of the time scans that searched out and pinpointed a threat in the timestream.

"Anything yet?" Krys asked as they neared Agent Cali. Agent Cali didn't turn around as she said,

"Almost finished. We'll know in a minute."

"Good." Older Wilbur nodded. He turned back to his younger self and Krys. "Once we find out what's going on, I'll evaluate the conditions. Then I'll decide what should be done."

Before either Krys or Wilbur could reply, Agent Cali spun around in her swivel chair.

"Captain, the scan is finished."

"And…?" Younger Wilbur asked, waving his hands for emphasis, wanting to know what was going on…and fast.

Agent Cali sighed and looked at the older Wilbur.

"Well?" He asked.

"We have a Level 2 Code Blue: Existence and timestream threatened."

Krys's eyes went wide as Wilbur looked at her in confusion. Older Wilbur quickly nodded and put his hands on both of their shoulders.

"Thank you, Agent Cali. If the timestream is also threatened, alert the agents. We may have more than just one problem on our hands here."

"Yes, Captain." Agent Cali said, turning back around. She hit a button on the desk and a blue light began to flash on lights mounted around the room.

"Attention TCTF: We are currently under a Level 2 Code Blue. Gather in assembly hall immediately for orders. I repeat, Level 2 Code Blue. Meet in the assembly hall immediately for orders."

Older Wilbur quickly turned the two fourteen year olds in front of him around and quickly guided them back the way they had come.

"What's going on?" Younger Wilbur asked, looking up at his future self in confusion. He knew he would one day come up with everything the TCTF was, and all the terms they used, but that was a good ten years into his future, and at that point, he was pretty confused.

Krys quickly readjusted her glasses. "It means a time lapse is possible." She said. "It also means that someone's existence could be on the line, this time it looks like ours."

"Greeeeeeeeeat." Wilbur said. "Why is time travel _always_ trying to off me?!"

"That is an excellent question." Krys said, quoting her best friend.

"That's my line!" Younger Wilbur said.

"Alright, that's enough." Older Wilbur said. He walked ahead of the two and stepped under a green travel tube labeled "Assembly Hall." Krys and Wilbur followed close behind, and soon found themselves standing in a large room filled with people. Older Wilbur was quickly making his way down the aisle, and Wilbur could see that his father, mother, and future wife waited on the stage as well.

"C'mon!" Krys hissed, poking him in the side. He followed her up the aisle onto the stage, where they both stood in between Cassie and Franny.

"Alright, everyone, calm down." Older Wilbur said, his voice amplified by a microphone Younger Wilbur couldn't see. The loud chatter echoing through the room quieted down, and Older Wilbur waited a minute before speaking again.

"As you've heard, we are all currently under a Level 2 Code Blue, existence and timestream endangered. Not an hour ago, my daughter and my younger self showed up in my office, informing me that my father's younger self has been kidnapped."

Franny squeezed Cornelius's hand.

"We're not sure as to why Lewis was kidnapped, nor are we sure as to who did it, but because Lewis is my father, not only is his future in danger, but his family, including myself and my family." Older Wilbur went on. "Because of this, I am putting all time machines on lockdown. I'm sending Krys and my younger self back to 2009 to see what they can find out, and as soon as they know enough, I will send agents in to help. Until then, they will not be using any TCTF gadgets to find Lewis, such as the tracking devise that was implanted under his skin when he was here three months ago when I was taken hostage by James McPhearson."

"But Dad!" Krys said, stepping forward. "How do you expect us to find Lewis if we can't track him?"

Older Wilbur turned to his daughter. "You'll be looking for all the evidence you can." He said. "Once you've found what you think is a good lead, you'll report back to me and I will send in a few agents to track him and find him. We don't know how dangerous Lewis's kidnappers are, and I can't risk letting you find him on your own."

"But Dad…" Krys started again.

"Krys." Cassie said quietly, stepping forward and putting her hand on her father's shoulder.

Krys got the hint and shut her mouth. She knew her father was only looking out for her, but she could take care of herself. Besides, it wasn't like she was going alone.

"Fine." She said. She grinned. "What are the orders, Captain?"

Her father grinned. "Deport to 2038 first and freeze time. I don't want Mom to worry in the past when I don't show up at home for a little while. As soon as that's over –" He looked at his younger self. "—I suggest you get a few changes of clothes and anything else you think might come in handy. You might be in the past for a little while. After that, deport to 2009 and begin looking for clues. You'll know what to do once you find a good lead."

His younger self and daughter nodded.

Older Wilbur gave them both a nod, then turned back to the TCTF special agents, detectives, officers, sergeants, and investigators. "Everyone, please return to your work stations. Agents Stacy and Joey, please see to it that the time machines are put on lockdown."

Special Agents Stacy and Joey nodded. "We're on it, Captain."

As the room cleared out, Older Wilbur sighed and turned back to his family. Cassie smiled encouragingly at her husband, and Wilbur's parents did the same.

"It'll be alright, son." Cornelius promised. "Lewis is going to be fine."

"Do you remember anything about being kidnapped?" Younger Wilbur asked. "I mean, you remember me bringing Lewis to the future and everything that happened after that, so that means you must remember this!"

Cornelius shook his head. "I'm completely blank on this one." He said. "And while I do remember everything that happened after you brought me to the past when I was twelve, it took about a week to gain all the new memories."

Wilbur cocked an eyebrow. "That long?" He asked. "Geez, I thought it took about five seconds or something!"

"Time travel's complicated, Wilbur." Franny said. "You know that."

"Well, yeah, but still!" Wilbur said. He turned to his future self. "What about you? How long did it take you to gain all the memories of what happened after Krys brought Lewis and me here?"

"A week." Older Wilbur said. "Just like Dad."

"So…" Krys said. "It could be up to a week before Grandad can give us any clues as to what's going on?"

Cornelius nodded. "Unfortunately."

"But there's just one thing I still don't get." Wilbur said, looking at his dad. "If this has happened before, wouldn't you already remember it?"

Cornelius shook his head and looked at his older son. "Do you want to explain it?"

"Might as well." Older Wilbur said. "Do you remember when Dad told us about how the timestream was a little unstable and always would be after he invented the time machine?"

"How could I forget? He explained the whole thing to me and then the first prototype blew up. The only thing that was left was a screw." Wilbur said, cocking an eyebrow once more, remembering the day that would forever be known as the 'dark day at the Robinson house.'

"Right. Well, because the timestream is so unstable, small bits and pieces of history are changed. Some things are major, or could turn out to be major, but most of the time, it's simply that an ant was stepped on when it wasn't supposed to be." Older Wilbur went on. "But in this case, a Code Blue case, it's serious. When a Code Blue is issued, it means that the existence of possibly thousands of people could be in the hands of one person in the past whose about to do something stupid or something is about to happen to them. That means that the future could dramatically change. Like when we knocked over Stanley at the science fair, and he knocked over Lizzy's ants. Or, like it is in this case, if it's serious enough, the timestream could collapse entirely, and time would end entirely."

"So does this mean…that this has never happened before?" Krys asked.

"Exactly." Older Wilbur said. "The trip to this future might have been just enough turbulence in the timestream to cause Lewis to get kidnapped, while he would not have if it happened before."

"And that's why you have to hurry and find Lewis as fast as you can." Cassie said. "Not only is the timestream in danger, but your very existences could be, too."

"Don't worry, Mom." Krys said. "We can do this."

"I have no doubt." Cassie said, laughing a little.

"As for right now, head back home and do what I told Wilbur to do." Older Wilbur said. "Grab anything you think you might need."

"Got it, Dad." Krys said. "We'll report back here in an hour."

Older Wilbur nodded. Krys and Younger Wilbur turned and walked down the stairs from the stage and up the aisle, where they stepped under the travel tube and disappeared.

As soon as they were gone, Wilbur turned back to Cornelius.

"Are you sure you can't remember anything?" He asked. Cornelius shook his head.

"Nothing whatsoever, Wilbur." He said. "I wish I could, but it looks like today has never happened before."

* * *

**Alright, so for those of you who have ever heard this story's theme song, _Dare You to Move_ by Switchfoot, you'll know that "...today has never happened before..." is a quote from there. It fits well with this story.**

**Anyway, I wasn't too happy with the ending, but that's as good as I can do right now! I have to go study for two of my midterms tomorrow. Adios!**

**Please review! Frankie's bored now that he's killed Mini Doris at least fifteen times...**


	5. Comforting Memories

**OK, so here's an update! **

**Gah, it is really, really windy outside tonight, and so it's really late here. It's...2:10 AM, and thought I probably won't have school tomorrow, it's still late. But I have what's called a loft bed, so I have about a foot clearance between me and the ceiling, and my room is on the wing of the house that's in between my neighbor's house about seven feet away from one of my windows and the house, and about five feet away from the garage and my house, so that wind's howling, and it's strong, so I can hear things falling over and it's KEEPING ME AWAKE!!!**

**Ahem, sorry for that. I'm just a little tired, and I have to get up at six tomorrow.**

**Anyway, so here's the chapter! The song used at the beginning is, of course, the main theme song of this story, _Dare You to Move_. I was torn between it, _Little Wonders_, and _I'm Still Here_ (from Treasure Planet) and _Feels Like Today_, but I finally went with this one, since it seemed to fit a bit better. **

**Anyway, enjoy, and please review!**

**PS- The italics are a flashback.**

* * *

Chapter Five: Comforting Memories

----Unknown Location, 2009----

Meanwhile, while Krys and Wilbur prepared themselves for the task ahead of them, Lewis was still tied up and gagged in the back of Anthony's car. He was still covered with the blanket that hid him from passerby eyes, and it was beginning to get _too _stuffy for comfort, not that he was comfortable anyway. He had been awake for a good three hours (or so he thought; he couldn't see his wristwatch as it was tied behind him), and he had been using that time span to try and wiggle his wrists from the handkerchief Anthony had used as a rope to tie his wrists together, but he had had no such luck so far. He had almost managed to once, but his hands had proven to be a little too big to squeeze from under the slack of handkerchief he had been able to create, and eventually he had only succeeded in making the bonds tighter, if that were possible.

Lewis sighed as he tried to keep himself calm. He tried to keep his mind set on something other than his family, like how he was going to get himself out of the jam he now faced. He almost succeeded until Anthony turned on the car's radio, and a song Lewis recognized as a song Franny was trying to teach Frankie and his frog band started to play, and Lewis's thoughts were once again snapped to his family.

_Between who you are _

_And who you could be _

_Between how it is _

_And how it should be _

_I dare you to move _

_I dare you to move _

_I dare you lift yourself up off the floor _

_I dare you to move _

_I dare you to move _

_Like today never happened before _

Tears welled up in Lewis's eyes as he thought once more about his parents and friends. The tears fell silently onto the car's upholstery, his glasses fogging up a bit as they did. Lewis bit down hard on the gag and screwed his eyes shut tight, curling up into a tight ball, telling himself he had to stay strong. No matter what happened, he knew he had to stay strong if he had any hope of seeing home again.

Anthony switched the radio channel and for that, Lewis was grateful. The channel Anthony had changed to was some sort of alternative station, and Lewis was once again grateful that he didn't recognize any of the songs that played for the next couple minutes.

"You okay back there, kid?" Anthony asked, looking in the back mirror. He hadn't heard the kid move or make a sound in quite a while, and he wanted to make sure he was alright, something not found in most kidnappers, who cared more about getting their ransom money than their prisoner's wellbeing.

"Mmmhhh!" Lewis replied through the gag. "Mmhh mmmhh mmmhhh mmh!"

Anthony smirked. "Whatever you say." He said. "In about an hour you'll be able to move again. We'll be taking a little plane trip to California then."

Lewis's mind buzzed at the though. _California!_ He thought.

"Mmmhhh!" Lewis said in response.

"Shut up and quit moving back there." Anthony said. "Not another peep."

Lewis stopped trying to communicate and shut his mouth as best he could. Another hour and maybe he could actually talk to Anthony and this Donna (whoever she was), if they actually undid the gag, that is. Maybe then he could find out what they wanted with some fourteen year old kid…

Lewis vaguely wondered where he and Anthony were. They had been driving for quite some time now; about thirty hours or so, if Lewis was correct. He couldn't be precisely sure due to the blanket with which he had been forced to cover up with, hiding the windows from his view.

Lewis closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He knew it was no use trying not to think about his family, so he searched his brain for a memory to concentrate on. His thoughts eventually led him _back_ to the memory where he had fractured his ankle…

_Lewis sighed as he stood up straight and stretched, wiping some of the sweat from his forehead, only succeeding by smearing some of the oil that had been on his hand all over his face. Finally, after staying up countless nights for about a month, Lewis had finally completed his first prototype of Carl the robot. _

_Carl didn't look exactly like Lewis remembered him from the future (the future Carl was gold; the prototype Carl was silver, and a little bit more blocky), but he knew that by the time thirty years rolled around, he would have had already evolved into the Carl Lewis knew through massive upgrades and experiences. This Carl was only a prototype, an outer shell at the moment. Lewis had yet to perfect yet another prototype of Carl's, his brain, as well as his emotion chips and various attachments for the time being. _

_Suddenly, there was a bright light overhead. Lewis looked up to see if it was possibly lightning, but he found the sky above him perfectly clear. Not a cloud in sight. _

_Then he heard it. It was a sound Lewis knew oh-too-well as the sound of the time machine, and the arrival of his best friend from the future. _

_Lewis set down his wrench and ran for the door. He leapt down the stairs two at a time and threw open the back door, running into the backyard of the Robinson house. _

_Lewis stopped and looked around the backyard, panting slightly for air. Wilbur must have put the time machine's invisible shield on, for it was no where to be seen. _

_"Wilbur!" Lewis called. "I know you're out here! Where are you?" _

_Wilbur didn't answer. Lewis knew he was around there somewhere, he could feel it. Somehow he just knew when Wilbur was up to something. _

_The thirteen year old put his arms out in front of him and began to feel the air in front of him as he walked forward. "Wilbur!" He hissed again. _

_Suddenly, Lewis felt his foot trip over something, and he went toppling head over heels onto the ground. Pain surged through his left ankle, and he gasped in pain and quickly rubbed it, hoping to dull the pain a bit. His glasses had fallen safely in the grass beside him, and he held his ankle in one hand and used the other to feel around until he found them. He slipped them onto his nose, and looked at his ankle, which had already begun to swell. _

_At that moment, someone in front of him burst out laughing, and Wilbur magically appeared in front of him. He was bent over laughing, clutching his stomach. As happy as Lewis was to see his best friend again, he was also extremely irritable with him, as it was blatantly obvious that it had been Wilbur that Lewis had tripped on. _

_"Oh boy, I wish you could see your face!" Wilbur said, straightening up, wiping a tear from his eye. "I wish I had a picture of that!" _

_Lewis winced as he continued to rub his throbbing ankle. "It's not funny, Wilbur!" He said. "I think I broke my ankle!" _

_Wilbur immediately stopped laughing and flicked his gaze to Lewis's ankle, which continued to swell. His eyes widened. _

_"Oh crap." He said. _

_Lewis winced again and sighed. "Just help me get to the house!" He said. Wilbur nodded and bent down to help Lewis to his feet awkwardly, helping Lewis limp to the house with his arm over his shoulder. _

_"I am so grounded for this…" Wilbur muttered to himself as he and Lewis limped to the backdoor and limped inside the house. The two slowly made it towards the living room, where Lucille and Bud were sitting on the couch, engaged in a staring contest. As soon as the boys walked in the room, however, the trance was broken between the two of them, and their heads turned to face their future grandson (though they didn't know that little bit of information) and hurt son. _

_"Hello, Wilbur!" Lucille greeted with a grin, not seeing that her son was limping at first. "Want to try your luck at a staring contest? I've already beat Bud here three times in the last five minutes." She then looked at Lewis and gasped. The knees of his jeans were grass stained, and he was limping, his arms draped over Wilbur's shoulders for support. _

_"Cornelius!" She said, getting up and going over to help him. "What happened?" _

_"I tripped." Lewis said, glancing at Wilbur. "Wilbur came over and I went outside to find him and I tripped over a hole in the ground." _

_"Limp on over here to the couch and let me see." Bud said. "I had a little medical training in college while learning to be a science teacher." _

_Lucille looked at Lewis. "Can you walk on it?" _

_Lewis shook his head. "I think it's broken." _

_Lucille just nodded and went around to Lewis's right side, putting his left arm over her shoulder like Wilbur had done, and then she and Wilbur helped Lewis limp over to the couch, where Bud put a pillow on the coffee table and had Lewis prop it up so he could examine it. _

_"Alright, son, tell me if this hurts." Bud said. He gently reached out and picked Lewis's foot up. Lewis let out a small squeal and winced. Bud carefully felt his son's swollen foot, Lewis letting out small gasps and squeals as he did. Bud finally sat Lewis's foot back on the pillow and put his hands on his hips. _

_"Well, son, it looks like you have a broken foot." He said. "But we're going to need to get you to a real doctor to be certain." _

_Lewis groaned. 'So much for finishing Carl…' he thought. _

_Bud looked at Wilbur. "Can you help him get to the car?" _

_Wilbur nodded. _

_"Sure thing, Mr. Robinson." He said. As he helped Lewis back to his feet, Lucille ran to find ice to help with the swelling as Bud went out to the garage to start the car. _

_As soon as Lucille had an icepack in her hands, she rushed to open the door as Wilbur helped Lewis limp out and climb into the car. Lewis propped his foot up on the center consol in front of him as Wilbur climbed in the backseat next to his best friend. Lucille closed the door to the house and quickly climbed in the front seat next to Bud and put the icepack on Lewis's ankle. _

_Bud pulled out of the driveway and started down the road towards Midtown. Wilbur chewed his bottom lip nervously, hoping and praying that it was nothing serious. _

_----The Midtown Hospital, one hour later---- _

_"Well, Mr. Robinson, it seems that your little fall resulted in a small fracture in your ankle." Dr. Radborne said as he walked in the room with the results of Lewis's x-rays. He placed the x-rays on an x-ray light mounted on the wall and switched on the light. The x-ray of Lewis's foot appeared, and Wilbur could make out a distinct crack in the middle of the bone. _

_'Ooh…' He thought. 'Dad's going to kill me!' _

_Dr. Radborne pointed to the little crack on the x-ray and explained what he was going to do. _

_"We'll have to put you in a case for a couple weeks." He said to Lewis. "You'll be on crutches, but it shouldn't slow you down too much." _

_Lewis nodded and sighed. "Thanks, Dr. Radborne." He said. _

_"My pleasure." Dr. Radborne said. "Just be sure you avoid those holes from now on, okay?" _

_Lewis nodded again. "I will, thanks." _

_Dr. Radborne grinned at the teen and looked at his parents. "I'll be back in a minute with the cast." He said. He turned and walked out the door, closing it snuggly behind him. _

_"Well…" Wilbur dared to say after a moment of silence. "At least it's not broken." _

_Lucille nodded. "It could have been a lot worse." She said. _

_"You'll be doing a lot of desk work for a while, eh, son?" Bud said, grinning. _

_"Yeah." Lewis agreed. "Maybe this will give me a chance to work on Carl's emotion chips." _

_"Ooh, great idea!" Lucille said. "Do you think you'll be done with him soon?" _

_Lewis nodded and grinned, glancing at Wilbur. "I sure hope so." He said. _

_'So do I.' Wilbur thought. _

_At that moment, Dr. Radborne and a few nurses walked in, one nurse wheeling a cart with all the things they would need to make a cast piled on top. Dr. Radborne had Lewis put his foot up on a stool he had brought in from the hall, and the nurses started unloading the supplies onto the counter next to Lewis's parents. He turned away from them for a moment, then turned around with a needle in his hand. _

_"Uh oh…" Wilbur muttered. _

_"What?" Lewis whispered as Dr. Radborne talked to Bud. _

_"I don't like needles." Wilbur said. "I never have." _

_"Oh boy…" Lewis said. "Why?" _

_"That is an excellent question." Wilbur answered. _

_Just then, Dr. Radborne turned back to Lewis. "Alright, Cornelius, I'm going to give you a shot in the leg to numb the pain." _

_"Alright, Dr. Radborne." Lewis answered. He looked at Wilbur. "Uh, can my friend wait in the waiting room? He doesn't exactly like needles." _

_Dr. Radborne and Lewis's parents both looked at Wilbur, who had turned an odd shade of green. _

_"Oh course." Dr. Radborne said. "Tami, would you mind?" He looked at one of the nurses. _

_"Not at all." Tami looked at Wilbur. "Come with me." She said. _

_Wilbur wasted no time. Before anyone had any time to even blink, he was up and out of his chair, already in the hallway. He didn't need any help finding the waiting room; that was where the bathrooms were. _

_----Another hour later, Robinson House---- _

_"Geez, I can't believe you don't like needles." Lewis said as he and Wilbur made their way towards the backyard, Lewis on crutches. _

_"What?" Wilbur asked. "I've never liked them! Not since Mom took me to have me vaccinated against pretty much everything when I was three. That was before you came up with the Cure All pill, and they had to give me about ten shots! I had Captain Time Travel band aids all up and down my arms! I felt like Grandma with her caffeine patches!" _

_Lewis laughed. "You survived, didn't you?" _

_"That's not the point." Wilbur said. _

_Lewis just shook his head at his future son as he hit a button on his watch and the time machine appeared in front of them. _

_"Sorry about your ankle, dude." Wilbur said as he turned back to Lewis. _

_"Don't worry about it." He said. He punched Wilbur playfully in the arm. "Just don't do that again!" _

_Wilbur laughed nervously and rubbed his arm. "Heh…see ya later, Dad." He said. _

_"See ya, Wilbur." Lewis said as Wilbur clambered into the front seat of the time machine. "Oh, and Wilbur, when you get back to 2037, you're grounded." _

_Wilbur just groaned, started the time machine, and soared into the sky, disappearing with a flash of light as Lewis turned back around and limped back inside. _

Lewis was snapped out of his memory by Anthony stopping the car and turning off the engine. Lewis's eyes snapped open, and he dared to move from under the blanket and look out the window.

Anthony was about twenty feet away, hugging a woman dressed in blue jeans and a leather jacket. Behind them sat a small plane. Lewis realized that the woman must be the woman Anthony had mentioned in his phone call to Kevin, Donna.

Lewis saw Anthony coming towards him, and he quickly tried to recover himself with the blanket. No luck.

Anthony opened the back door to the car and dragged Lewis out. Lewis then got a good view of the landscape around them, and they were parked near a large canyon, the land beyond the cut off thick with snow covered evergreens. Lewis's legs ached after not being used in such a long time, and the left one tingled with sleep. Still, it felt good to be out of Anthony's car.

"Feel good to stretch your legs again, kid?" Anthony asked as he dragged Lewis over to the plane and Donna.

Lewis replied muffled replies.

"Take the gag off, Anthony." Donna said. "It's not like anyone can hear him out here, anyway."

Anthony looked from Donna to Lewis for a minute, but finally relented and untied the handkerchief from Lewis's mouth, stuffing it back in his coat pocket.

Lewis spit out the awful taste of the gag from his mouth, then took in a gulp of air before looking back at his captors.

"What do you want with me?" He asked.

"That will all be revealed in good time, kid." Donna said. "Not much longer now."

Lewis scoffed a bit. "Could you at least untie me?" He asked. "My arms hurt like crazy."

"No can do, kid." Anthony said, pushing him towards the open door of the plane. "We're not stupid."

_You are if you think you can get away with kidnapping!_ Lewis thought. He climbed in the plane and sat down in the back. Anthony went back to the car and took the keys from the ignition and locked the doors before coming back to the plane and climbing in after Donna, joining her in the front after making sure the door was securely shut and locked.

Donna slipped on a pair of aviator headphones and started the plane. The engine roared to life under Lewis's feet, and it began to move. Donna guided the plane away from the precipice of the drop off, going back towards the way Anthony and Lewis had come. She then did a U turn and sped up, finally going over the edge of the precipice.

For a minute, Lewis was scared she hadn't had enough thrust or a large enough area to take off, but his fears were soon calmed as the plan soared farther and farther into the sky. He watched as Anthony's car and the drop off disappeared as they flew towards the horizon.

* * *

**Review, please?**

**-Robi **


	6. Gum Shoes

**OK, guys, this is really important, so please listen up!**

**Alright, so as if my updates weren't sparatic enough thanks to the Winter Blues and writer's block, I now face a new problem:**

**Driver's Ed.**

**Need I say more? **

**Anyway, I start driver's ed today, and it goes from six to eight o'clock in the evening everyday Monday through Friday for the next three weeks, and after that, I have to have about 50 hours of driving time in order for me to get my license by my sixteenth birthday, which is in May. **

**And as the icing of the cake, my schoolwork just got a little more difficult. It's nothing I can't overcome, but with me not getting home until three in the afternoon and homework every night and then driver's ed from six to eight, it doesn't give me a lot of time to write. At all.**

**So I thought I might leave an author's note here with this chapter letting you guys know that if I disappear for a little while, I'm still alive! I'm just dog tired.**

**Anywho, onto the update!**

* * *

Chapter Six: Gum Shoes

----Robinson House, 2009----

Krys gently glided the time machine downward towards the ground into the little clearing between the pine trees in the woods behind the Robinson house in 2009. They had managed to get Krys completely packed in about ten minutes, and had said goodbye to their family and left for Wilbur's time in 2038, freezing time. Wilbur hurried and grabbed whatever he thought he might need, then the two left for 2009.

Krys hit the button to the hatch and jumped outside, Wilbur in tow. They nodded to one another and stealthily snuck through the woods and around the Robinson house, running up the path to the Robinson's front door. Wilbur opened it and the two ran inside, shutting the door behind them.

"Mrs. Robinson!" He called. "Anybody home?"

Lucille appeared in the hallway from the kitchen, her face instantly brightening at the sight of Wilbur.

"Wilbur, you're back!" She said. She looked at Krys. "Hello! I don't think I've met you before." She extended her hand to Krys and Krys shook it.

"Hello." She said. "I'm Krys, Wilbur's cousin. I was at Lewis's fourteenth birthday party, remember?"

"Oh yes! I remember now!" She said, smiling. "I assume you've heard what happened to Cornelius."

Krys nodded. "That's why I'm here." She said. "I've got a little detective work under my belt, and I was hoping maybe I could help."

Lucille shook her head. "I'm not sure if there's much you can do. They sent over a few investigators, but they haven't been able to find anything. Whoever these people were, they didn't want to get caught."

"Did they leave any kind of evidence?" Krys asked.

"I'm afraid not. Not even a fingerprint." Lucille sighed. "But you're welcome to stay anyway. Bud and I need some company."

Wilbur and Krys nodded simultaneously and followed Lucille into the kitchen, where they found Bud sitting at the kitchen table, the newspaper in front of him and a somber expression plastered on his face. He looked up as Lucille, Wilbur, and Krys entered the room.

"Hey, Wilbur, good to see you back." He said, folding his newspaper in half, setting it down on the table. He grinned when he saw Krys. "And whose this?"

"Hi, Mr. Robinson." Wilbur said. "This is my cousin, Krys."

Krys grinned and held out her hand to Bud. "I was at Lewis's fourteenth birthday party." She said.

Bud shook her hand. "You were the one that beat Franny's brothers in a foot race, weren't you?"

Krys nodded. "That's me."

"Good to see ya again, then, Krys!" Bud said. "So what brings you back here?"

"Wilbur came and told me how Lewis was kidnapped." Krys said. "I was hoping maybe I could help."

Bud's cheery face turned into a sad smile. "I'm not sure there's much you can do." He said. "They've got some fancy special investigators out there as we speak."

Wilbur and Krys's faces fell a bit and they both sighed.

Bud narrowed his eyes and studied the two. "Eh, are you sure you two are cousins?" He asked. "You two look almost identical, with the funny hairdo and such, except for Wilbur has brown eyes and Krys has green and glasses." He cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're cousins and not identical twins?"

Wilbur and Krys gave each other a sly glance and grinned. "We're pretty sure, Mr. Robinson." Krys said.

"Yeah. Our dads are twins, though." Wilbur said, almost laughing at the thought.

"Hm…I guess that explains things, then." Bud said. "Still, you two could pass as twins if you ever needed to!"

At that moment, one of the officers Wilbur had met earlier came strolling into the room.

"Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, we found this." He said as he held something out in his hand.

Looking closer, Krys and Wilbur could see it was a wallet. "It has your son's ID card in it."

Lucille looked sadly at the wallet in the officer's hand before reaching out and taking it. Krys could see the difficult time she was having holding back the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

"Have you been able to find anything else?" Bud asked, placing his arm around Lucille's shoulders.

Officer Sam shook his head. "I'm afraid not, sir." He said. "But as soon as we do, I'll let you know."

Bud nodded. "Thank you."

As Officer Sam continued to talk to Lewis's parents, Krys leaned over and hissed in Wilbur's ear.

"C'mon! Let's go see if we can't find anything."

Wilbur nodded silently and the two slinked out of the room undetected.

The two headed off towards Lewis's lab. They ducked under the yellow police tape and headed up the stairs, surprised that there was no one there.

"Hm." Wilbur said. "You'd think this being where the kidnapper got in they'd be swarming this place." Wilbur said.

"Mh hm." Krys agreed, her eyes narrowed as she slowly scanned the room. She reached up and hit a small button on the side of her glasses frames, activating the Cyber-Optics. She continued to scan the room, starting first at the window, then the doorway.

When she didn't spot anything, Krys went back and used the magnification at ten percent. Still finding nothing, she increased it to twenty, then thirty percent. Finally, after using all the magnifications she could, she hit the button on her glasses and stood up straight, huffing as she did.

"Find anything?" Wilbur asked. Krys shook her head.

"Whoever this dude was, he doesn't want to be caught." She said. "Though I'm not really surprised there are no fingerprints. He might have been wearing gloves, since judging by the snow and actual temperature outside now it was pretty cold last night."

Wilbur nodded. "Then what do we do?"

Krys shrugged. "Keep looking, I guess." She said.

The two teens turned and walked back down the stairs. Krys turned her Cyber-Optics back on and scoured the area about three times before moving into the hallway. Wilbur found himself wishing he had grabbed his Cyber-Optics from his backpack in the time machine; he felt sort of useless. But he knew he couldn't risk going out into the woods to get them, either. With all of those investigators around, one was sure to notice him snooping around in the woods and follow him, eventually leading to the discovery of the time machine, with mass mayhem resulting from that. The timestream was unstable as it was, and it just wasn't worth the risk.

"Anything yet?" Wilbur asked. Krys stood up straight and sighed.

"Nothing." She said.

Suddenly, the vibration of her wristwatch caused both of them to look down. The transmitter text stated that it was a call from headquarters.

"Crap!" Krys hissed under her breath, looking around for a place to hide. She finally spotted a closet at the far end of the hall and ran towards it, dragging Wilbur along with her. She opened the door and pulled him inside with her. She hit a button on the side of her watch and a small hologram appeared, lighting the dark closet. A small figure of her father appeared.

"Krys, is everything alright there?" Her father asked. "Have you found anything yet?"

Krys shook her head. "Nothing." She said. "Not a fingerprint. I used my Cyber-Optics to try and find what I could, but I couldn't find anything." Older Wilbur nodded. "How are things there?" Krys asked.

"Normal. Nothing unusual yet." Older Wilbur responded.

"Good." His younger self responded. "Grandma and Grandpa are taking it a little hard, but they're okay."

Older Wilbur nodded. "Just be careful." He said.

"We will, Dad." Krys promised. "Over and out."

"Over and out."

With that, Older Wilbur's hologram disappeared and the closet was dark again. The two fumbled around in the dark for the doorknob for a minute, finally finding it and stumbling into the bright hallway.

"Well, the lab was obviously a dead end when it came to clues." Krys said. "Let's check outside."

Wilbur arched an eyebrow. "Uh, remember what Grandpa said? They've got all kinds of investigators out there! And they're professionals! I highly doubt they're just going to let two fourteen year olds snoop for clues with them!"

Krys crossed her arms. "Then what do you propose we do?"

Wilbur shrugged. "I don't know." He said. "Anything but that!"

"Well we have to do something!" Krys said. "Besides," she grinned and tapped her glasses. "I might be able to find something with the Cyber-Optics that those "professionals" might not be able to."

Wilbur couldn't argue with that logic. He sighed and followed Krys back to the front door. They pulled on their coats and headed back into the freezing cold. They walked around the side of the house into the backyard, where they were surprised to find a large van set up in the middle of it. A man sat at a desk set up in front of the van, a laptop computer in front of him with an extension cord running from inside the large van to its power cable. A young woman stood at another desk not five feet from him, a microscope and papers littered in front of her.

The rest of the backyard was swarming with about twelve other investigators. They had set up a long row of tarps above the footprints of Lewis and his kidnapper, and it reminded the teens of the red carpet in Hollywood. From the thin sheet of snow on the tarps' tops, they guessed it was to preserve the footprints.

A police officer that Wilbur recognized from earlier spotted them and walked towards them.

"What are you two doing back here?" He asked in a slightly rude voice, narrowing his eyes as he looked at them skeptically.

"Well, we were hoping we could possibly help." Krys said, not liking the way the officer was talking to them.

The officer raised an eyebrow and put his hands on his hips.

"And how do you think you can help?" He asked. "You're just kids!"

"True, but we also know a thing or two about detective work." Krys said, narrowing her eyes back at him. "Just because we're kids doesn't mean we can't do anything to help!"

The officer scoffed and turned to walk away.

"You can help, but if you get in anyone's way, you're out of here, got it?"

"Got it." Wilbur and Krys said together. The officer walked off, and the two set to work looking for clues.

----One hour later----

Wilbur and Krys struggled against the strength of the police officer as he dragged them down the hall by their coat collars towards the kitchen.

Wilbur and Krys, after having been granted permission to help search for any clues that might help them find their best friend, had carefully used the Cyber-Optics to search the area, which had led them to examine the footprints. After a little while, however, the investigators had gotten tired of them being underfoot, and has asked the officer to take them back to house. Of course, they had both protested up a storm the whole way, but it had fallen on deaf ears and the officer had succeeded in dragging them back to the kitchen, where the Robinsons sat in silence.

"I told you two to stay out from underfoot!" The officer said as he let go of their coats.

"Hey, we weren't underfoot!" Wilbur said. "We were just trying to help!"

"Well, now you can help us by staying here, where you belong!" The officer said. "Kids like you have no business playing detective around a real crime scene anyway!"

"We weren't playing!" Krys argued. "We were really trying to help! Lewis is our friend!"

The officer sighed. "Look, kids, just stay here, okay? Don't let me catch you two bugging the investigators again or I'll lock you both in my car, got it?"

Wilbur and Krys scowled at the floor. "Got it." They grumbled together.

"Good." The officer said, nodding curtly. He then turned and left.

"What happened?" Lucille asked as she got up from her seat at the kitchen table.

"We thought we might be able to help by searching for clues, but apparenly we didn't help at all." Wilbur said. "We're apparently 'just kids' and can't do anything."

Lucille smiled sadly and pulled them both into a hug.

"Thank you both for trying to help, but they're right." She said. "You should leave the detective work to the professionals."

She let them go and took a step back. She looked at the clock on the wall. "Shouldn't you two be getting back home?" She asked. "I'm sure your parents are looking for you. Besides, it'll be getting dark before too much longer, and it's going to get really cold tonight."

The teens sighed. "Yeah, we probably should." Krys said. "Thanks for everything, Mrs. Robinson."

Lucille smiled and nodded. "And thank you." She said. "Cornelius is lucky to have friends like you."

Wilbur and Krys grinned. "Thanks." They said.

With that, they bid the Robinsons goodbye and walked out the door into the cold snow. They walked down the front path so as not to grab attention right away, watching the people around them carefully.

"So what do we do now?" Wilbur asked. Krys shrugged.

"Head back to the future, I guess." She said. "I don't know."

"We could turn on our invisiblity and go back and look for more clues." Wilbus suggested.

"Wilbur, are you crazy?" Krys asked. "And risk getting caught with all those investigators around? I don't think so!"

"What, it was just a suggestion!" Wilbur said in defense.

"Not to mention a bad idea." Krys said. "Besides, we need to figure out a way to get back to the time machine without getting caught. That's our main problem at the moment."

"Aside from Lewis getting kidnapped, you mean." Wilbur pointed out.

"Wilbur, I'm serious!" Krys said, turning around and facing him. "We need to--"

Suddenly, Krys stopped short, her eyes widening in horror. Wilbur looked back at her with the same horrified expression. They knew they were seeing what the other saw because looking at each other was the equivalent of like looking in a mirror.

"Wilbur," Krys said, her stare unblinking. "You're fading!"

"So are you!" Wilbur said, pointing back at her as her stomach flickered like the bad reception of an old fashioned television caught in the middle of a thunderstorm.

The two looked down at themselves as both of their stomachs and arms flickered at the same time and screamed,

"_We're fading!_"

* * *

**Well, I hope that was a good enough chapter to tide you guys over until I can update again! Nothing like a cliffhanger to keep you guys waiting. ;)**

**Anyway, please review! I have to head off to school now!**

**-Robin**


	7. Drastic Measures

**-dances- Driver's Ed is over! Driver's Ed is over! I passed! I passed! Whoo hoo! Whoo hoo!**

**-regains composure- Ahem, sorry about that. :)**

**Yes, it's true, I passed Driver's Training! Come Tuesday after me and Mom make a trip to the Secretary of State Office, I am officially a learner's permit holding legal driver. :D **

**Boy, but it's been a bumpy three weeks. I'll miss going to Driver's Ed because it was really actually fun, and it got me out of the house, but I'm happy to be back writing. Lord knows I can't stay away very long!**

**And this chapter's a little...iffy, if you ask me. There's not a whole heck of a lot of dialogue or action, and it's more of a filler chapter until towards the end. I promise it'll pick up a little after this! And yes, Wilbur is supposed to be a little...quiet here. But it's only because he's a little preoccupied at the moment. It also shows that he's slowly but surely maturing into the 43 year old Wilbur that runs the TCTF in 2067 and is Krys's father. Again, it'll get better. :)**

**So here's the next chappie. Enjoy!**

**PS- Happy March, everyone! Can you believe we're about to be celebrating one year of Robinson goodness?!**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Drastic Measures

_"We're fading!" _

Wilbur stared at his future daughter in shock as they both flickered again.

"What's going on?!" He asked. "Why are we fading?!"

"I don't know!" Krys said as she looked down. Her stomach flickered once more before going back to normal. They both waited for a few more moments, but nothing happened.

"Do you think this could have something to do with Lewis's disappearance?" Wilbur questioned after a minute. Krys's eyes widened as she nodded.

"It's a possibility!" She said. She began pacing. "Oh, this is not good!"

"Well, what are we going to do?" Wilbur asked. Krys stopped pacing.

"We _have_ to find Lewis!" She said. "I know Dad said to call him once we found a lead, but we have to act _now_."

"And how are we supposed to find him?" Wilbur asked. "Activate the tracking device you implanted in his arm when you first met us?"

"Exactly!" Krys said. "We'll activate the tracking device and follow it to wherever it is that Lewis is!" She stopped. "But we'll need a couple of things, and I'm not sure if we can get them without going back to the future and Dad finding out."

"Other than the fact that I'm your dad and I'll know in about a week." Wilbur said. He stopped. "Ah! I'm starting to sound like Lewis!"

"That's good." Krys said. "It shows you're starting to think like my dad."

Wilbur glared at her for a second. He knew it was true, but Wilbur still hadn't exactly come to terms with the fact that he would eventually have to grow up. No teen who was enjoying life as it was did.

"We'll need a couple supplies." Krys said, thinking it over. "The basics; food, water, blankets, and a few futuristic gadgets to help us out."

"Whoa, back up! You're talking like we're going to be camping or something!" Wilbur said.

"We sort of are." Krys said. "If we're going to go after Lewis, we're going to have to go slow in that time machine. The time machine can only hold so much fuel, so we'll have to conserve it by going slow."

Wilbur nodded in agreement; that made sense.

"But where are we going to get the other supplies? It's not like we can just waltz right back up there and ask our future grandparents slash great-grandparents if we just borrow a couple things to help save their son because we're starting to fade!" Wilbur pointed out, crossing his arms across his chest.

Krys sighed in annoyance. Wilbur was right.

"Then what should we do?" Krys asked.

"Easy," Wilbur responded. "We got to _my_ time and get all the supplies we need from my frozen time period. That way we don't have to worry about getting caught."

Krys thought about if for a minute before grinning.

"Wilbur, you're brilliant!" She said. She looked at her watch. "We'd better hurry. You're going to be wondering what's up in the future before too long, and if he catches us jumping times in the hourly time scan we do in a Code Blue, he'll probably get suspicious."

With that, she and Wilbur turned and headed into the woods towards the small alcove of trees that sheltered the time machine. They jumped inside and sped off towards Wilbur's future.

----Unknown Location, 2009----

Meanwhile, Lewis was finally back on solid ground as Donna landed the plane in a small field. He let out a sigh of relief as Donna killed the engine of the plane and opened the door. Anthony came up behind Lewis and pushed him out. He and Donna followed suit, and Donna closed the door to the plane.

Anthony put a firm hand on Lewis's shoulder and ordered him to start walking. He kept his hand on his shoulder as the three began the trek across the field. Lewis had no idea where they were going, but he knew that wherever it was, it was most likely the place where he would finally meet this Cleo Wilson and Kevin Jones he had heard about. And maybe he'd get a few answers as to what they wanted with him, as well.

----Robinson Mansion, 2038----

"Alright, here's the plan." Wilbur said as he and Krys climbed out of the time machine onto the frozen-in-time Robinson lawn. "We go in the house, get all the supplies we might need, and get out. Got it?"

Krys nodded. "Got it." She said. "You get the gadgets, and I'll get the food."

"Great." Wilbur said. "There's an old cooler of Grandad's in the garage. I use it to hide some prototypes of Dad's I've wrecked." Krys cocked an eyebrow. "What? He hasn't noticed!"

"Sure he hasn't." Krys said. "Now come on; let's go."

With that, she and Wilbur turned and ran towards the garage. Wilbur turned the doorknob, thankful it was unlocked, and walked inside.

"It's…smaller." Krys said, looking around as they walked towards the door at the far end.

"Duh! That's because this is the garage in 2038, while you're used to the garage in 2067." Wilbur said. He opened the door, revealing a small flight of stairs. "I highly doubt the travel tubes are working, so we're going to have to take the stairs."

"Great." Krys mumbled as they started up the stairs.

The two finally emerged in the living room. Uncle Gaston hung frozen in the air from where he had shot himself out of his cannon, Aunt Billie's train about a toe-length behind him. Grandpa Bud was kneeling on the floor, looking under a chair, a peanut butter jar beside him, leading both Wilbur and Krys to believe he had once again lost his teeth.

Wilbur looked at Krys. "I'll head to the lab and get some stuff that might help us out. You go to the kitchen!"

Krys nodded. "Got it!" She said as she and Wilbur darted off in separate directions. Krys ran through the halls, hoping the kitchen was still relatively in the same area as the kitchen in 2067. She turned left, and was relieved to find she was right.

Krys sighed in relief and headed towards the refrigerator to get a few sandwiches for her and Wilbur. They weren't sure how long they were going to be gone, and they needed all the supplies they could get for the time being.

"Let's see..." Krys said, opening the refrigerator door. "Cold pizza, apples, peanut butter...ah, here we go! Bologna!"

But as Krys reached in the refrigerator and picked up the package, her hand flickered again. She gasped, dropped the bologna, and watched as her hand continued to flicker for a minute before going back to normal.

"That is really going to get old." She said to herself as she picked up the bologna and began making the sandwiches.

----The Lab----

_"That's good. It shows you're starting to think like my dad."_

As he ran towards the lab, the words Krys had said to him just a little while earlier swam in Wilbur's mind, repeating over and over like an old fashioned scratched compact disc. He wasn't sure why they bothered him so much. After all, he _was_ Krys's dad, but something about the thought of sounding like a 43 year old bothered him. He knew he would have to grow up eventually, but he wanted to be a kid for as long as he possibly could, and no kid wanted to grow up at the age of fourteen.

Now he knew how Lewis felt!

Wilbur ran past his bedroom door and through the lab doors. He ran up the stairs and emerged out of breath at the top.

Wilbur half expected to his dad, frozen in time tinkering with one of his inventions, but he was surprised to find the lab empty.

_Hm. _Wilbur thought. _Where is he? He was here when I left! _

Wilbur shook it off and began rummaging around for various tools he knew might come in handy, including a couple flashlights, his father's old DNA scanner, the Blink (in it's new protective case, so Wilbur couldn't possibly erase his memory by accident again like he had the last time he had used it when he had sat on it, forgetting about a week's worth of information, resulting in a math test failure as well) two earpiece transmitters, two watches (since Krys had commented on the way that they should probably ditch theirs in the time machine in case the older Wilbur tried to contact them), and two Invisibility Belts. He glanced around the lab one last time before walking back down the stairs, not even bothering to close the doors behind him.

Wilbur slowed to a walk as he reached his bedroom door. He opened it (with some difficulty, considering his hands were full) and set his sights on his closet, where he knew his backpack would be. Dumping the stuff in his arms onto one of the beanbags near his window, Wilbur walked over to his closet and rummaged inside for a minute before he found his old Captain Time Travel backpack. He had had it as far back as he could remember, and no matter how old he got, he could never find it in him to get rid of the thing, even if he now used a plain black one for school. This had been his mother's idea, saying that "a big boy of fourteen should not be going to high school with a ratty Captain Time Travel backpack on his back." Wilbur had, of course, protested up a storm, but his mother had come out on top and won, as always, and had settled for a plain black one, but had still refused to get rid of the old one. He had actually dug around in the trash receptacles for half an hour once when his mother had tried to throw it out, and had hidden it safely in his closet, where no sane person dared venture farther than opening the door.

Wilbur carried the backpack back to the beanbag where all the stuff he and Krys would need sat. He stuffed it all into the backpack before making his way towards his shelf of Chargeball equipment, where he grabbed two of his Chargeball gloves and shoved those in as well. He swung the backpack onto his back and walked outside, closing his door behind him.

"Blankets." He reminded himself. He jogged down the hall a ways towards the linen closet where his mother stored all of the spare blankets and sheets and pillows. Wilbur pulled out two blankets and throw pillows, tucking them under his arms as he closed the door with his foot and started for the kitchen.

----The Kitchen----

Krys was just slapping the last sandwich together as Wilbur walked into the room, a backpack hoisted onto his shoulders and two pillows and blankets tucked under his arms.

"Got everything?" Krys asked. Wilbur nodded.

"Check!" He said. "I think we're good to go." He walked over to the counter and laid down the blankets and pillows and then the backpack. Krys raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Nice backpack." She said, laughing.

"Hey, don't diss the backpack!" Wilbur said, crossing his arms.

"Whatever." Krys said. "I just hope you have some room in that thing to hold some of our food." She said.

"I thought we were going to keep it in the old cooler in the garage?" Wilbur asked. Krys again raised an eyebrow, and Wilbur realized he had forgotten the cooler in the garage.

"Okay, okay, I'll go get it." He said. He turned on his heel and walked towards the travel tube at the far end of the room. He stepped under it, and when nothing happened, he began to bang on it for a minute.

"Uh, Dad?" Krys called after him. "The travel tubes don't work since time's stopped, remember?"

Wilbur scowled and crossed his arms. "Of course I remember!" He said. "I was just, uh, making sure _you _remembered!" He tried covering up for his mistake.

"Uh huh." Krys said. "Thanks."

Wilbur just scowled at her again as he turned and walked back towards the garage.

Krys shook her head. _What's with him? _She thought. _He's...quite. Normally I couldn't get him to stop making sarcastic remarks to save save his life! He's acting more and more like Dad by the minute! _

Krys stopped and considered her last thought for a moment. It was true. The fourteen year old Wilbur that was her best friend really _was_ beginning to act like the grown up, mature, laid back version that was the father she knew and loved. She could tell something was bothering him by the way he had "forgotten" that the travel tubes were broken. Even as a cocky fourteen year old, Wilbur had never been _that_ absent-minded. Krys had figured his worry was the same as hers; their flickering and Lewis's safety, but now she realized it was a lot more than just that. It was the fact that Wilbur was faced with growing up. She knew that was the last thing Wilbur wanted to have on his mind at the moment, but in a way, Krys was glad. It proved that he just might make it in the future after all.

Wilbur returned a few minutes later with a medium sized red and white cooler in his hands.

"Here." He said. "Start loading the food in here."

Krys did as she was told and began placing the Thermo-Containers (yet another invention by her grandfather that kept the foods in the containers at just the right temperature to keep it fresh for up to two weeks) and the Icy-Water (water enhanced with special electrolites that kept it icy cold even in direct sunlight) into the cooler, closing the lid once she was done.

"You get the cooler and I'll get the blankets and backpack." She said to Wilbur. "We've gotta get going."

Wilbur nodded and picked up the now-heavy cooler while Krys slipped the heavy backpack onto her shoulders. The two slowly made their way back through the Robinson house towards the garage, where they climbed back down the stairs and headed towards Krys's orange time machine. Krys threw the backpack, blankets, and pillows into the back before climbing inside to help Wilbur haul the heavy cooler into the backseat.

"There we go." Wilbur said as soon as the cooler was in. "Are we ready?"

Krys nodded as she hopped back down. "I think so." She said. "Let's go."

Then, just as they were about to swing into the time machine and take off again, a loud voice cut through the silent, still air.

"Wilbur Andrew Robinson, Krystal Marie Robinson, _what_ is going on here?"

Wilbur and Krys froze and slowly turned to find an angry -- and more importantly, not frozen -- Cornelius Robinson.

* * *

**Oh, and before I forget, I've decided, since they've become quite popular, to host my own MTR fanfic contest! **

Mine's going to be a little different, thought.

Mine can be about anything you want. I thought about having a subject, but, well...I think we all deserve a little _tiempo libre_! I mean, we've done really well so far with subjects, so why not try a free-for-all?

Anyway, here are the rules for this one:  
  
**Contest starts:** _Officially, it starts March 5th, for no reason whatsoever. :)_  
**Contest ends:** _May 22nd. That's my sixteenth birthday, and just because. :) _  
**Contest rules:**  
_1.) Can be either a oneshot OR twoshot of any length.  
2.) Can be any rating except M, and please, no slash.  
3.) OCs are fine to use! I love the OCs we all come up with!  
4.) Open topic.  
5.) Must be MTR. (That's a given!)  
6.) Last, but not least, YOU MUST HAVE FUN WITH IT:) C'mon, who could not have fun writing an MTR fanfiction?!_

**Alright, guys, that's it! Have fun, and take your time! You've got a little over two months to do this thing! **

Adios, mis amigos! Happy writing!

-Robin 


	8. Cleo Wilson

**Alright, guys, this is a short chapter. I wanted to have this be a two-parter and have Lewis meeting Cleo Wilson _and_ have us find out what's up with Cornelius not being frozen, but this seemed like it needed to be a chapter on its own. I mean, even short chapters are important, right?**

**Anyway, I also wanted to say that I'M BACK! Now that it's spring again (though we got seven inches of snow in my area on the second day of spring! XD) I got my writer's spark back! I think the reason I just didn't update in the winter was because I just got bored so easily, not being able to get out and do anything when I got stumped to give me ideas, and now if I get stumped all I have to do is go for a walk around the block. **

**So this means you can expect more updates on this in the near future, as well as my Pocahontas/MTR crossover (I'm almost half way done with the next chappie) and upon _SkyHighFan_'s request, an update on _The Year Without a Wilbur. _I'm really sorry about all the hiatuses, guys. Really, I am.**

**Anyway, enjoy, and don't forget to update! Frankie's back from spring break...and he's not happy that there's snow on the ground and he's bored...**

**Happy Easter! May the Lord bless! HE IS RISEN!**

**PS- The "trailer" for this story is now the first chapter. Check it out!**

* * *

Chapter Eight: Cleo Wilson

----Unknown Location, 2009----

Meanwhile, after about twenty minutes of walking, a house appeared in the distance. Lewis knew without having to ask that this was their destination. This was the place where Cleo Wilson was waiting for him.

As they walked closer and closer, the question that had been plaguing Lewis since he was kidnapped came back to mind. What did Cleo want with him?

When they reached the house (which looked like it was built sometime in the 1970s, with the typical seventies architecture, and a plat roof) and walked up to the door, opening it with a key on the key ring that held her plane key. She pushed it back, holding it open for Anthony and Lewis. Anthony, his hand still firm on Lewis's shoulder, walked through the doorway, and Donna shut it behind them.

"I'll go tell them you're here." She said. Anthony nodded, but said nothing.

Five minutes later, Donna returned. "Come on." She said. "They're waiting."

Anthony gave Lewis another push from behind, propelling him forward.

Donna led Lewis and Anthony down the hallway and to the right. She then led them into a room off to the left, closing the door behind her.

They were in a den of sorts. A fire played merrily in the fireplace at the far end, and a bookcase was on either side. A ping pong and air hockey table was at the other end, near a small fold up poker table.

A man who looked around Anthony's age with blonde hair and blue eyes sat at the poker table. Donna went and sat next to him as Anthony guided Lewis over to them.

"Good to see you, Anthony." The man said.

Anthony smirked. "Think I wasn't coming back, Kevin?" He asked with a slight laugh.

_So that's Kevin._ Lewis thought.

Just then, the door was opened again and a woman with short dark brown hair came into the room. As she got closer, Lewis could see that her eyes were a piercing ice blue. They seemed to bore into him, and Lewis shivered.

This was Cleo Wilson, the woman who had had him ripped away from his family in the dead of night and dragged across the country for reasons Lewis still had yet to know. She smiled at Anthony.

"Well done, Anthony." She said. She then turned her smile towards Lewis. "Hello, Cornelius." She said.

"How do you know my name?" Lewis asked. "What do you want with me?"

"We'll get to that in a moment." Cleo said. "First, Tony, untie the boy. He can't go anywhere."

Anthony sighed and untied the handkerchief from around Lewis's wrists. It took a minute for feeling to return to his hands after having them behind his back for over twenty four hours, and he rubbed them. They were a little red from where the cloth had dug into them, and they were a little sore.

"Sit down." Cleo said, the smile never leaving her face.

Lewis did as he was told, partly because Anthony still had a firm hand on his shoulder. Cleo, Donna, Anthony, and Kevin all sat around the small poker table around him.

"So, Cornelius," Cleo said. "How was the trip?"

Lewis narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, you mean how you had me kidnapped from my home in the middle of the night and dragged across the country tied up and gagged in the back of a car with no way of knowing where I was going or for what?" He said sarcastically, something that was usually the expertise of Wilbur. "It was great."

Cleo raised an eyebrow and turned to Anthony. "You had him bound and gagged the whole way?"

"I couldn't have the kid trying to escape, could I?" Anthony said in his defense.

"I guess not." Cleo said. She looked back at Lewis.

"What do you want with me?" Lewis asked.

Cleo smiled again. "Ah yes." She said. "We'll get to that in a moment. First, let me introduce myself. I'm Cleo Wilson. This is my twin brother, Anthony, and my cousins, Donna Clemens and Kevin Jones. Now as for what I've had Anthony and Donna bring you here for, I want you to build me a computer program. Not just any computer program, but a program that can be used to hack into any website and file system known to this planet. A virus, if you will. I know of your inventing abilities; all of America does, which is why I have brought _you _here to do this for me."

Lewis stared at her for a moment. "Are you crazy?!" He asked. "You want me to make you a virus that can hack into any website or file system in the world? What for?"

"My reasons are of no concern of yours." Cleo said. "And if you do this for me, I'll deposit you safe and sound back at home with Mommy and Daddy. If not, then..." Her face darkened and she smiled nastily. "Well, then I guess I'll just have to do the opposite of that, won't I?"

Lewis glared at her. "I won't do it." He said.

Cleo shook her head, tsking him. "That's too bad." She said. "Well, then, I guess I'll just have to throw in a bargaining chip, won't I? Say...your family?"

At this, Lewis's face immediately filled with worry. Cleo wouldn't really hurt his family, would she? He suspected she probably would, considering she had had her own twin brother kidnap him from his home, and had her own cousin fly him to California.

"Fine." He said. "I'll do it."

Cleo smiled. "Good, good."

"But--" Lewis interjected. "There's just one thing: you keep my family out of this."

Cleo nodded. "You have a deal." She said, reaching out her hands to shake Lewis's hand. Lewis reluctantly shook it.

Cleo smiled once again and stood up. "Then it's set." She said. "Anthony will show you to your room. You'll have everything you could ever need. I'll bring you some dinner later. No doubt you're starving after your long trip."

Lewis's stomach growled at the thought of food, but he said nothing.

Cleo turned to Anthony. "Please take him to his room."

Anthony nodded. "Sure think, Cle." He said. He gripped Lewis by the shoulder again. "Come on, kid."

Lewis did as he was told and got up from the table, allowing Anthony to lead him out of the room back into the hallway. He then proceeded to guide him up a flight of stairs. As they reached the top, Anthony flipped on the light, revealing an average sized room with a simple bed and desk. On the desk sat a computer monitor. Cardboard boxes were stacked neatly in the corner, each labeled "computer equipment." A small, open door to the right of the bed revealed a small bathroom.

 Anthony let go of Lewis's shoulder and walked to the left of the doorway. Walking to the corner, he pulled on a cord that hung from the ceiling, revealing a small flight of stairs.

"This leads to the attic." He said. "All the wire hookups you'll need are up there."

Lewis nodded mutely as he sat on the bed.

"Good luck, kid." Anthony said as he walked back to the door. "I'll bring you some food a little later."

Again Lewis nodded, not saying anything. Anthony gave a final nod before closing the door, locking it behind him.

Lewis surveyed his room for a minute. There were no windows, and it was a little cold. Lewis shivered in his thin jacket. After a minute, he sighed and got up, walking to the computer. He examined it for a minute, turning it on. He then walked over to the boxes and rummaged through them for a minute. Cleo was right; everything Lewis knew he would need to make a virus as complex as the one Cleo wanted him to build was right here in front of him. He sighed again, wiped off his glasses, and made his way towards the attic ladder.

He had work to do.

----Downstairs----

Meanwhile, Anthony was on his way back to the den to ask his sister for orders. Cleo had always been the bossy type, even if Anthony was the oldest of the two twins by fifteen minutes. She had always been the one to take charge, and everything always got done when she was the leader.

And Anthony knew why she wanted the Robinson boy to make her virus that could hack into things. He knew because he wanted it as bad as she did.

Anthony and Cleo wanted information on their missing father.

Nathan Wilson had been missing since the two were thirteen years old. On their thirteenth birthday, five men from the president's secret service had come and taken their father away, without so much as a single word why. They had torn their beloved father from them, their mother, and their baby sister, Carmen, never to be seen again. No matter how hard they tried and no matter how much they pleaded, the FBI refused to release any information as to the whereabouts of Nathan Wilson. They had spent the last ten years of their lives without knowing if he was dead or alive, and they wanted answers.

As Anthony walked into the room, he heard Cleo conversing with Donna and Kevin.

"The boy is far too valuable for me to just give up. No doubt he'll tell the police about us and our plans as soon as we release him. We can't let him tell anyone anything." She said.

Donna and Kevin exchanged nervous glances.

"What do you mean, Cleo?" Anthony asked as he joined him.

"I mean that I'm keeping him. As my hostage. He'll work for me, modifying and perfecting the virus after we release it into the internet, ensuring it's fool proof, and nothing can destroy it."

"And how long do you plan on keeping him?" Kevin asked. "You can't keep him forever!"

Cleo laughed harshly. "Oh really?" She asked. "As I said before, this boy is far too valuable to give up. He will work for me as my hostage...until I cease to find a use for him."

* * *

**I don't know if I like this Cleo or not. She's much more villianous than James McPhearson, that's for dang sure!**

**And I wasn't sure if I liked this chappie or not. I might rewrite it. I dunno. -shrugs- It all depends on what you guys think! Lemme know in a review, please!  
**

**Happy Easter!**

**-Robin**


	9. Dear Diary: Wilbur Still Hasn't Learned

**Alright, so I thought it was high time I added some humor into this story. :) Seriously, I think the whole "serious" theme this story seemed to take on was a result of writing it in winter. -shakes head- But, if you can't tell from this chapter, I'm back! It's like I'm a bear or something...I hibernate in the winter, and I'm up and at it in the spring. XD And I mean, c'mon, with Krys and Wilbur, it can't stay serious for too long, no matter what. :P**

**So here's the next chapter! Not only do we finally find out why Cornelius wasn't frozen, but we also get to see some more humor! -dances- **

**Oh, and the town Lewis lives in is I guess called Midtown. If you watch the _Another Believer _(which is actually Wilbur's theme, by the way! That is my random tidbit of information for the day.)montage, when Lewis goes into his room and shuts the door on the lady in the pink checked dress and the really tall dude, his shirt says "Midtown U" on it. It also says this on the podium at the college where he raises his hands and the college students look at him funny. ;) Just thought I might throw that out there. **

**Anyway, so enjoy! And please don't forget to review!**

**Big thanks to _RockDiva _for betareading for me, and coming up with the chapter title!**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Dear Diary, Wilbur Still Hasn't Learned

--Robinson Mansion, 2038--

"D-dad! Wha-what are you doing here?" Wilbur stuttered. Cornelius stepped closer, his arms folded across his chest.

"That would have to be my question to you." He said. "What are you two up to? I leave to study Tiny's old habitat and I come home to find everything frozen! What happened? Is something wrong with the timestream?"

Krys bit her lip and glanced at Wilbur nervously.

"Grandad, Lewis has been kidnapped!" She said after a minute. "And Wilbur and I are starting to flicker! We're going to track him with the tracking device I implanted under his skin when he was in my time three months ago. We needed supplies, so we came here to get what we needed since Dad had already had us freeze time here."

Cornelius shook his head. "I knew something wasn't right." He said. He looked at the two teenagers seriously. "Shouldn't the older Wilbur be taking care of this?"

"He doesn't know about it." Wilbur said. "I went back to see Lewis and there were a bunch of cop cars on the front yard and when I went inside to see what was up, Grandma and Grandpa told me he had been kidnapped, so I went to find Krys to help me find him and the older me ran a timescan and found out it was a Code Blue and he sent me and Krys back to 2009 to look for clues and call him when we found a lead but we couldn't find any and then we started to flicker and we freaked out and came up with a plan to track Lewis outselves but we needed some stuff so we came here to get to get the stuff because the older me had us freeze my time so I could help look for clues and you and Mom not freak out and ground me, and so Krys got the food and I got the other stuff and then we loaded it into the time machine and then you showed up and now we're talking to you!"

"Wilbur, breathe!" Krys commanded as Wilbur gasped for breath. "Did you get into Grandma's caffeine patches again?"

"That is an excellent question." Wilbur said.

Cornelius shook his head, laughing slightly. "You need to lay off the caffeine, son." He said. "As for going after Lewis, I think that's a job for the professionals. You two could get hurt."

Wilbur cocked an eyebrow. "C'mon, Dad, it can't be any more dangerous than me and Lewis trying to rescue Krys and the older me from James McPhearson."

"Definitely not one of our most brilliant plans." Cornelius said. "And I still don't think going after him is a good idea."

Wilbur and Krys sighed.

"Grandad, please, I think we can do it!" Krys said after a minute. "I mean, you've seen Wilbur and me work together. We're a good team. And it's our existence in danger, and our best friend in danger. We _have_ to help Lewis!"

"And, if we can get by James McPhearson's goons and outsmart McPhearson himself, I think we can pull this off." Wilbur added.

Cornelius considered this for a minute before sighing. "Alright." He said. "But you have to promise me something."

Krys nodded. "What?"

"That you'll both stay safe." Cornelius said. "I don't think I could live with myself knowing something happened to either of you."

Wilbur nodded. "Don't worry, Dad, we'll be fine." He said.

Cornelius shook his head. _It's not you two I worry about._ He thought. "Wait here, you two." He said. He walked back towards the garage, disappearing for about a minute before reappearing with a time machine fuel tube in his hands. The yellow-green time machine fuel reached the capacity level, and Cornelius was screwing on the cap tightly as he walked back towards the two teens.

"Here." He said, handing it to Wilbur. "You might need some extra fuel. Make sure you use it wisely; you can't go as fast as you usually would, especially if Lewis isn't nearby."

"Thanks, Dad." Wilbur said, loading the fuel tube into the back of the time machine.

"We won't waste it, I promise." Krys said as she climbed into the time machine's front seat and started the time machine, while Wilbur buckled up in the back. "We'll be back with Lewis in no time."

Cornelius laughed. "I have no doubt." He said. "Just remember what I said."

"We will!" The two called simultaneously as Krys shut the hatch. Cornelius watched as they entered the timestream with a bright light, praying that they were right.

--Above Midtown, 2009--

With a flash of light, Krys's orange time machine soared back into 2009. Krys quickly entered the pin number for Lewis's tracking device, putting the invisibility on as she did.

After about a minute, the tracking device zoned in on Lewis's microchip, pinpointing his location to be in…

"California." Krys asked as she looked at the map the tracking device had brought up. "They took Lewis all the way to California!"

"California?" Wilbur asked. "But that's all the way across the country!"

"I know." Krys said. "And that means we're really going to have to take it slow. Each time travel costs the fuel tubes one eighth of its supply, and we've already done three today alone on a full tank, which means we're down to five eighths left."

"Then it's a good thing Dad gave us this extra fuel tube." Wilbur said. "It just might come in handy."

Krys nodded. "We'll have to take shifts driving." She said. "That way, we only have to stop when we absolutely have to."

Wilbur nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me." He said. "Who's driving first?"

"I am." Krys said. "Then when I get tired, you can take over."

"Okay…but what am I supposed to do until then?" Wilbur asked.

"Oh, I don't know…sleep, maybe?" Krys asked, glancing over her shoulder to give Wilbur an odd look.

"But I'm not tired!" Wilbur protested.

"Then find something to do!" Krys said.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Didn't you bring anything to keep you occupied?"

"No…" Wilbur said.

Krys rolled her eyes. "You didn't bring a book with you? Or your music? _Anything_?"

Wilbur shook his head. "I never thought about it." He said.

Krys gave him an exasperated look, then turned back around in her seat to make sure she was clear of any trees or low flying planes that might happen to be in the area. She didn't suspect she was in the path of hitting anything, since Wilbur had screamed yet, but she knew it was better safe than sorry.

"If you look in my suitcase, I have my music buds in there. You can borrow those."

Wilbur reached down and pulled Krys's blue suitcase from under her seat in front of him. He opened it, revealing the many sets of clothes and various other items Krys had thrown into it in her haste, but her music buds weren't anywhere he could see.

"They're probably somewhere towards the bottom." Krys said. "I kind of just threw them in there."

Wilbur dug deeper, pushing Krys's beloved jeans jacket and t shirts out of the way, revealing a small yellow book labeled:

_Krys's Diary_

_Keep out!_

_(This means you, Wilbur.)_

Wilbur smirked and picked up the book.

"New diary, huh?" He asked teasingly. "I wonder what secrets this one has…" He was about to open the cover when Krys turned around, her green eyes narrowed dangerously behind her glasses. Wilbur was almost surprised they didn't fog up; he could have sworn he saw steam coming out of her ears.

"Put. My diary. Down." She said in a dangerous tone that reminded Wilbur of his mother.

"Why?" Wilbur asked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you have to hide?"

"Nothing." Krys said, returning the eyebrow. "But that's still my diary, and you aren't supposed to read people's diaries!" She smirked. "Besides," She said, reaching over and opening the time machine glove box, pulling out a can of pink spray paint. "I don't think you want me to paint your shoes pink again."

Wilbur scowled. He vividly remembered waking up to find his shoes, brandishing a new shade of baby pink, sitting on his bedside table, with the laces tied together in a bow with a not that said "I warned you" propped up against them. Wilbur had had no choice but to wear them. He had weighted his options, which were either wear the pink Converse high tops with everything (he only had one pair) and hopefully be able to scrub the paint off, or wear his moccasins, which he wore around the house in the winter. Wilbur knew he would get funny looks either way, and he had eventually concluded the pink Converse were definitely better than his _house slippers_. Or socks, for that matter.

Unfortunately, people had still noticed. His mother had been the first, asking what he had done to his shoes. Wilbur had lied and said that he had accidentally spilled some of Laszlo's paint on them. Luckily he was able to get away with this since Laszlo had been painting what he called "Ode to Pink" which consisted of every shade of pink imaginable, including the baby pink Krys had used on his shoes. (Wilbur had had to dispose of a small amount of Laszlo's baby pink paint to cover this story, and had poured it in Dimitri's pot, but not without a bribe of fresh fertilizer every day. Wilbur had been pouring fertilizer in Dimitri's pot for three weeks after that.)

"Ha ha ha." He mumbled. "Very funny. I call that cruel."

Krys grinned. "I call that karma."

"You know, just for that, I should read a page." Wilbur said.

"You wouldn't." Krys said, her face going from the grin to a serious face.

Wilbur opened the front cover of the book.

"Wilbur Robinson…" Krys growled. "Don't. You. Dare."

Wilbur cleared his through and began to read aloud, "Dear diary…"

That was it. Krys lunged over the front seat into the back, trying to grab her diary away from Wilbur, who wasn't about to forfeit it.

"Give it back!" Krys yelled.

"No way!" Wilbur yelled back.

The two were so absorbed in fighting over the book that they didn't see where the time machine was flying.

Krys finally was able to wrestle the book from Wilbur's hands, after threatening him with karate. Franny had said she had taught everything she knew to her granddaughter, and if that was true, Krys was good. Wilbur _knew_ it was true. The last time he had claimed to have read her diary (which he had only read two pages of, then had gotten bored, and had put it back), she had tackled him and pinned him to the floor. Wilbur knew that wasn't something he wanted to happen again.

That, and he had to share a time machine with her…

"You are so lucky you're my father!" Krys said. "If you weren't my dad, you'd be dead meat, buddy!"

Wilbur scowled and brushed himself off, cocking an eyebrow. "Sheesh, Krys." He said. "I wasn't really going to read it."

Krys tucked her book back into her suitcase and thrust it back under the seat, shoving her music buds into Wilbur's hands as she did.

"I don't know why you want to read it anyway." She said. "It's not really that interesting. All I ever talk about is time travel, music, and inventing. Kind of boring, really."

"Plane." Wilbur said, his eyes wide.

Krys nodded. "Yeah, plain as in synonymous with boring."

"Plane." Wilbur said, a little louder this time, his eyes still wide.

Krys cocked an eyebrow. "I just said it was plain!" She said.

"No, I mean, _PLANE_!" Wilbur said, pointing out the window.

Krys turned and saw what her best friend was talking about. Her own eyes widened and she and Wilbur both screamed.

A commercial jet was coming straight at them. Because the time machine's invisibility was on, they knew there was no way the plane could see them. And even if it could, there was no way it could get around the small time machine in time. Both teens knew that if they didn't act fast, the time machine would collide with the plane, and crash to the ground, taking them with it.

Krys dove over the seat again and gripped the steering wheel. She slammed on the gas pedal, screaming for Wilbur to hold on as she did. She steered the time machine to the left roughly, sending Wilbur, who was unable to find his seatbelt quickly enough, flying across the back, slamming him into the window, his right shoulder hitting the side as well.

"Ow!" He said.

"Sorry!" Krys called over the roar of the plane as he rushed past them. They took in huge gulps of air as they watched the plane race past them. Krys had gotten them out of the way in the nick of time.

"Phew!" Krys said, grinning. "I thought we were goners!"

"So did I." Wilbur agreed, rubbing his shoulder where he had hit it, then his head. "Crap, that hurt!"

"Sorry." Krys said. "But it was either move us or get crushed! That's a small price to pay for what _could_ have happened!"

Wilbur nodded, unable to argue with that. He rubbed his shoulder painfully. The soreness slowly ebbed away, and was finally gone.

"Now buckle up and keep your hands off my diary, mister." Krys said, buckling her own seatbelt back and taking her place at the wheel again. "And try to get some sleep. We've got a long way to go."

Wilbur sighed and put the music buds in his ears. Music started to play, and he was surprised to find that the music playing was the kind he usually listened to at home. Then again, he remembered that Krys was a musician, like her grandmother before her, as well as an inventor like her grandfather. She was a time traveler like her father, and bright like her mother. She was, after all, his future daughter, which meant she was half him.

Wilbur grinned as his favorite song started to play. He leaned back against the seat, watching the passing scenery in the rapidly fading twilight before, like Wilbur, the sun went to sleep behind the horizon.

* * *

**Oh, and the "music buds" look like the earphones we use to listen to our iPods. :)**

**Review? Please? -puppy dog eyes-**

**-Robin**


	10. Virus

**Yay, I'm updating again! **

**-sighs happily- Ah, spring. :) How I've missed you! You gave me my writer's spark back! **

**So here's the next chappie. :) It's a tad bit short, yes, and the first part has no dialogue...but I didn't find a place that needed text in the first part, so I just let my fingers type whatever it was they wanted. -shrugs-**

**Anyway, enjoy, and don't forget to review! Frankie's back, too. -nods seriously-**

* * *

Chapter Ten: Virus

--California, 2009--

Meanwhile, as his best friends were making their way towards him, Lewis was tinkering away on the now fully running computer system. It had taken him a full two hours to get everything out of the boxes and pieced together, and another hour to connect everything in the attic. Lewis was already tired from his trip there with only little spurts of sleep tied up in the back of Anthony's car, but now he was absolutely exhausted.

Lewis sighed as he bit into the peanut butter sandwich Anthony had brought up to him a couple hours before when he had still been in the attic hooking up the computer. The peanut butter was a little dry, along with the bread it was spread on, but it was like a French hors d'oeuvre to Lewis.

Lewis's fingers flew swiftly across the keyboard, the text seeming to form itself, typing in the random segments of code he knew would make the virus Cleo wanted. Lewis still wasn't sure why she wanted the virus, really, in the first place, and even though he knew what he was doing, he was still baffled as to how he was actually going to _create_ such a powerful computer virus.

Lewis knew, no matter how smart he was, that it would take him several days – if not weeks – to finish the virus. The thought of his family made his heart twist again, and he quickly pushed the thoughts aside as he went about his business.

While he was doing this, Lewis was also forming another plan in his brain. In his heart, Lewis knew Cleo was not a person to be trusted, and he knew that if she got a hold on the virus he was creating, she could do much more than just hack into systems. She could blackmail people. She could control them. She could gain supreme control over anything she wanted, bending laws to her liking, even have a few people removed from her way. And Lewis would be to blame for handing something that powerful over to her.

Still, Lewis, because he didn't trust Cleo, couldn't put his family in danger.

But nor could he risk the lives of those around him.

Lewis stopped what he was doing, saving his work. He thought for a moment before pushing back his chair and walking up to the attic, where he had seen a few boxes of books being stored. He climbed the small staircase, emerging in the dusty, cobweb infested attic. He walked over to the far side of the attic, switching on the single light that hung in the center of the ceiling as he did. He grabbed the box filled to the brim with books, dragging it to the center, where he had better light. He grabbed a book towards the top, and blew off the dust.

He began to dig through the box, hoping to find a notebook somewhere in the mess of books. While he didn't find a notebook, he _did_ find an old empty journal. Satisfied with his find, Lewis reloaded the books back into the box and pushed it back to its corner, where no one would suspect it had been moved.

Lewis took the old journal back down the stairs and to the desk, where he rummaged around in the drawers for a pen, finally finding one. The ink was running out, but it would do. He began to write down every single letter and number he had typed into the program. This took him a good thirty minutes, and his hand hurt, but he knew it would be worth it due to what he was going to do once he was done making Cleo's virus.

Lewis was going to create an antivirus. He figured he could make a placebo, but then he thought about what Cleo might do if he gave her the placebo and she found out it was a fake before she let him go (if she really actually planned to, that is.) She could get his family involved. Lewis couldn't risk that. He settled for the antivirus. As soon as the virus was released, he would turn the antivirus activate the antivirus, and the virus would be terminated.

He finally finished writing down the last letter he had written that night. He closed the journal, and hid it under some papers in the bottom drawer of the desk. No one would find it there, he hoped.

With that, Lewis sighed and walked over to the bed. He threw himself down on it, and was asleep in seconds, without so much as taking off his shoes or glasses.

--Unknown Location, 2009--

"Wilbur." Krys whispered. "Wilbur, wake up." She shook his shoulder, and he groaned and turned over onto his side.

"Five more minutes, Mommy." He mumbled. Krys rolled her eyes and shook his shoulder again.

"Wilbur, wake up. I need you to fly the time machine. It's your shift. I'm about to fall dead on my feet here!"

"Jack Sparrow? Who's that? No, I am not a little monkey." Wilbur continued to mumble. "I'm a mongoose. Honk honk!"

Krys laughed and shook her head for a minute. "Wilbur, wake up!" She said.

When Wilbur started making car horn sounds, she knew she had only one other alternative.

Krys reached into the time machine's glove compartment and pulled out an air horn. She placed the horn close to Wilbur's ear and pressed the button.

_**WWWWWOOOOONNNNNKKKKK!**_

"Yipe!" Wilbur yelped as he jumped straight up, hitting his head on the time machine's window as he did. Wilbur's hands instantly flew to his head. "Ow…" He mumbled, and Krys laughed. Wilbur glared up at her.

"Is that some kind of hobby of yours?" He asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Krys said.

"Sure you don't." Wilbur said. "Waking me up with an air horn! This is the second time you've done that!"

Krys crossed her arms. "Well, if you woke up when I told you to, maybe I wouldn't have to." She said.

Wilbur didn't say anything. "What do you want?" He asked.

"I need you to take over. I'm about to fall asleep at the wheel." Krys said.

Wilbur sighed. "Okay…" He said. "Where are we?" He looked out the window at the dark night. The lights from the city they were flying over sparkled, and the full moon lit their path through the clear air.

"I'm not sure." Krys said. "All I know is that we've been flying slowly but surely for about…seven hours."

"What time is it?" Wilbur asked, rubbing his sore head.

"Around one in the morning." Krys yawned.

"How much longer do we have to go?"

"According the tracking system, at this pace, about two days."

Wilbur groaned. "I have to spend two more days in this time machine?" He asked. "I'm going to die!"

Krys rolled her eyes. "You're not going to die, Wilbur." She said. "If I can put up with your excessive sleep talking about pigeons and…singing Christmas trees, I think you can survive."

"Hey, Chris is out to rule the world!" Wilbur defended.

"Sure he is." Krys said. "Now would you please switch me places so I can get some sleep?"

Wilbur reluctantly got up and moved into the front seat, where he buckled his seatbelt and turned off the autopilot, taking the wheel in his hands as Krys took his place on the backseat. She grabbed her black blazer coat and draped it over the seat to make it a tad bit more comfortable, then laid her head on the pillow and covered herself with one of the blankets, and was asleep almost instantly.

Wilbur, meanwhile, was busy thinking. Two more days. Two more days and they would be in California, where they would find Lewis, and hopefully save the future – again.

Wilbur let out a worried sigh. Somehow, he couldn't get the thought of Lewis in danger and he and Krys disappearing from his mind.

Wilbur looked down, and realized he was flickering again. He turned around in his seat and looked at Krys; she was flickering as well in her sleep.

He let out another sigh as he turned back around.

_Hold on, Lewis._ He thought.

The flickering stopped, and he shook his head.

"My best friends are in danger." He said to himself. "I have to help them."

* * *

**I don't know if I'm happy with the semi-awkward ending or not...**

**Please review!**

**-Robin**


	11. Cliffhanger

**Wow, is it really May already?! Wow, where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday it was September, and I was just starting my sophomore year in high school, and now here I am, about to be a _junior_! There's no way in the world I'm going to be a junior in high school in just 27 more days (17 and a half if you only count school days)! -whistles-**

**Anyway, here's my update. :) I'm really sorry it took me so long to update. I've been seriously busy since May started. I know that's a lame excuse, and one I seem to be using a lot lately, but I really have been. I just recently got my first job as a babysitter for a three year old and an eight month old, and I babysit anywhere from two to three times a week. I also just joined a band with my youth group from church a month ago, and we meet ever Thursday from 6 to 8. This is also the last month of the school year, and so I'm swamped with homework and all that crap. You know how it is. And, to top that off, I've just had the most...confusing week of my life. All I can say is, I've never felt like this before, and it's new to me, and I'm...big time confused. **

**But, here's my update! I tried to make it at least a little long to make up for my not updating! But it's almost summer; then I can update a lot! Whoo!**

**OK, wait...I just forgot two things that are really important...sorry, like I've said, I've had a hard week filled with emotional termoil and dinosaur fights, and I'm seriously out of it...**

**On June 16th through the 21st, I will not be anywhere near a computer. I will be at my youth group's Mission Camp, and I'll be busy fixing up homes and property for people who need it around my town, and it's just like a summer camp; I won't be anywhere near a TV, radio, iPod, cell phone, or computer for five whole days. Just my Bible. :)**

**And then on June 6th through I think the 14th or something, I'll be in Arkansas. There's still a load of crap my mother and I have to get sorted out with my Gran, and since no one else down there is going to bother doing it, it's all up to us, so...well, you know what it's like when I'm in Arkansas - no internet _anywhere. _-sighs- Oh well.**

**Anywho, enough of my serious ranting! Onto the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Cliffhanger

--TCTF Headquarters, 2067--

Wilbur paced up and down his office, running one of his hands through his cowlick. It had been two hours since he had last talked to Krys and his younger self, and he was beginning to get worried. Surely it was dark in 2009 by now, even if it was only three o'clock in 2067.

Wilbur let out a frustrated sigh. "C'mon, Krys." He said to himself. "Where are you?" He walked over to his desk and hit the intercom button. "Cassie." He said, and Cassie's hologram appeared a minute later.

"Is everything alright, Wilbur?" Cassie asked in concern. Wilbur nodded.

"I think so. Has Krys called yet?"

Cassie shook her head. "No." She said. "And I wouldn't worry about her too much, Wilbur. She knows what she's doing."

"Yeah, I know, but it should be dark out in 2009. She was supposed to come home then."

Cassie's eyebrows knitted together. "Hm." She said. "You're right. Maybe we should give her a call."

Wilbur nodded. "Alright." He said. "I'll let you know."

With that, Cassie's hologram disappeared. Wilbur pressed another button on the desk, and said Krys's time machine's number. It began dialing, and Wilbur waited.

--Unknown Location, 2009--

Wilbur had only been flying an hour when a voice coming from the speaker Wilbur knew was the time machine's communication device caused him to slam on the brakes. He looked behind him to make sure he hadn't awoken Krys before looking back at the speaker.

"Krys?" Wilbur recognized the voice of his older self. "Krys, Wilbur, are you there?"

Wilbur's eyes widened and he jumped over the back of the seat. "Krys!" He hissed urgently as he shook her violently awake. "Krys!"

Krys groaned and looked up. She pulled her glasses from under her pillow and pushed them onto her nose before glaring at Wilbur.

"What?" She hissed back. "If you want me to take over, there's no way I'm doing that, buddy!"

Wilbur slapped his hand over her mouth. "Sh!" He said. "The older me is on the speaker!"

"What?!" Krys said, muffled by Wilbur's hand.

"Krys, Wilbur? Are you there? Answer me!" The older Wilbur commanded.

Wilbur and Krys exchanged a worried glance.

"What should we do?" Wilbur whispered as quietly as he could.

"I don't know!" Krys said. She let out a frustrated sigh. "Why didn't I have Grandad disable the speakers when we were in your time?!"

"Guys, I know you're there; I can hear you. Now answer me." Older Wilbur said, beginning to sound annoyed.

Krys chewed her bottom lip. "H-hi, Dad." She said.

"Krys, what's going on?" Her father asked. "Why didn't you answer me?"

"Uh…" Krys looked at Wilbur. "Well, I was sleeping, and Wilbur was driving."

"Driving?" Krys could just see her father's eyebrow cocked in its usual curious manner at this.

"Uh…yeah."

"Alright, you two, I want answers. _Now_." Older Wilbur said.

Krys looked at Wilbur and whispered as covered the speaker with her hand. "We have to deactivate the time machine's tracking devise and speakers!" She said. "That way, Dad can't find us!"

"But what about our tracking devises?" Wilbur pointed out. "How are we supposed to deactivate_ those_; dig them from our skin?"

"No!" Krys said. "Just…stall him!"

With that, Krys took her hand from the speaker and dropped down under the steering wheel.

"What are you hiding?" Older Wilbur asked.

"Uh…nothing?" His younger self said, unable to think of anything else to say.

His older self laughed.

"Wilbur, you can't lie to me." He said. "I'm the older you; I know your tricks."

Wilbur silently cursed under his breath.

"Oh, and I'd watch that if I were you, which I am." Older Wilbur advised. "Mom catches you on the Fourth of July when you stomp your toe in 2039 and you get grounded for a week. No TV, no Chargeball, no time machine, no nothing."

Wilbur made a mental note to try and watch his mouth.

"Now, answer me." Older Wilbur commanded again. "What's going on? Why haven't I heard any news from you? What time is it there?"

Krys crawled out from under the steering wheel. "Sorry, Dad, there's no time to explain." She said. "Just look at your hands. That should tell you all you need to know."

"Krys, what are you talking about?"

"Don't worry about us!" His younger self said. "We know what we're doing, and we know it's right!"

Sudden comprehension filled Older Wilbur's voice. "Krys, Wilbur, no!"

At that moment, Krys disconnected the tracking device and speakers, and the speakers went blank.

--TCTF Headquarters, 2067--

"Krys, Wilbur, no!" Older Wilbur said as his daughter and younger self's voices disappeared and the connection between the two speakers went fuzzy.

Wilbur hit the button in sudden panic for a moment, trying to regain a signal, only to get the static again.

Wilbur stepped away from the computers and took calm, deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, telling himself his daughter did know what she was doing.

"What are they doing?" He thought aloud.

Krys's words came back. _Just look at your hands. That should tell you all you need to know._

Wilbur looked down at his hands. His eyes widened as they flickered for about a minute, like a bad hologram, and then went back to normal.

_Crap._ Wilbur thought.

Now he knew.

He knew what Krys meant.

And he knew why he and Wilbur were off on their own.

They were going after Lewis.

Wilbur quickly pressed the button on his desk. Agent Cali's holographic image appeared a moment later.

"Yes, Captain?" She asked.

"Agent Cali, I need you to run a time scan on Krys's time machine. Quickly."

Hearing the urgency in her captain's voice, Cali nodded. "I'm on it."

"Thank you." Wilbur said. He looked back at his hands. They were normal and non-flickering.

Wilbur quickly walked to the travel tube that would take him to the main hallway of headquarters. Stepping under it, he soon found himself surrounded by the many agents and investigators as they scuttled back and forth between destinations. He quickly made his way through the unusual crowds (the TCTF was usually much less busy when the time machines weren't on lockdown) towards the conference room, where his wife and family were hopefully still located.

To his relief, they were. Wilbur had to force himself to remain calm and walk, not run, towards Cassie and Cornelius, who sat conversing in two of the seats. Franny had left for home soon after Krys and Wilbur had departed, and now only his father and Cassie remained.

"Wilbur!" Cassie said, standing up when she saw him. "Have you heard anything yet?"

Wilbur nodded. "Yes." He said.

"Well, what did you hear?" Cassie urged. "And…" She saw the worry behind her husband's brown eyes. "What's wrong?"

Wilbur swallowed. "They're going after Lewis." He said. "They've disconnected the time machine's tracking device, I think, and the speakers. There's no way to get in touch with them."

Cassie's green eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

Wilbur nodded. "Pretty sure." He said.

"Are you sure they disconnected the tracking device?" Cornelius asked.

Wilbur nodded. "Agent Cali is running a timescan to be sure." He said.

"Wilbur, what are we going to do?" Cassie asked.

Wilbur pulled her into a hug. "I don't know, Cass." He admitted. "I'll go after them if I have to."

Cornelius shook his head. "On a Code Blue? Son, I don't think that's such a great idea. The younger you and Krys are already in 2009; if the you now goes after them, it could very well be the event that causes time to collapse."

Wilbur sighed, knowing his father was right.

"But, Dad…" He said, sighing again and holding up his hands as they flickered again. Cornelius and Cassie's eyes widened. "I may not have a choice."

"Wilbur, what's going on?" Cassie asked, taking his hand and examining it closely after it flickered back to normal.

"I don't know." Wilbur said. "But if I had to guess, this has something to do with Lewis being kidnapped." He looked at Cornelius. "What about you? Are you feeling…strange?"

Cornelius shook his head. "No." He said. "I feel fine."

Wilbur gave a curt nod. "Good." He said. "Let us know if that changes."

"Captain." Wilbur, Cassie, and Cornelius turned to find Agent Stacy running down the aisle of the conference room towards them, a piece of paper in her hand. She handed Wilbur the paper when she reached them.

"Cali asked me to give this to you." Agent Stacy said. "It's the timescan results."

"Thank you, Agent Stacy." Wilbur said. Agent Stacy nodded and ran back up the aisle and out the door.

Wilbur quickly scanned the page as Cassie and Cornelius waited anxiously for whatever it was that was on that paper. After about a minute, Wilbur let out a big sigh and slumped into one of the conference room seats.

"Wilbur, what is it?" Cornelius asked.

"They're going after him." Wilbur said. "They've disconnected the tracking device."

"Are you sure?" Cassie asked. Wilbur handed her the paper. Her green eyes scanned the page, and when she looked up, Wilbur could see the rising panic.

"Krys and Wilbur aren't dumb." Cornelius said. "They're anything but, individually, but together they're as bright as any genius. There's no doubt in my mind that they disconnected the tracking device."

"What about the tracking devices implanted under their skin?" Cassie questioned. "We could use those."

Wilbur shook his head. "You know those don't like to work on the timescans." He said. "They never had."

"But we have to do _something_!"

"I know!" Wilbur cried, hoping to his feet, beginning to pace. "I know."

After about a minute, Wilbur sat back down in the seat, burying his head in his hands. Cassie sat down next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"What are we going to do?" She asked softly.

"We have to trust them." Wilbur said finally. "We don't have a choice."

--Unknown Location, 2009--

"We are so going to regret this later." Wilbur muttered to himself at his place at the steering wheel a few hours later. The sun was just beginning to awaken behind the clouds, and it had been at least five hours since he and Krys had disconnected the speakers and tracking device.

As he and Krys grew closer and closer to their destination, the snow had gradually turned to sleet, then a steady rain. The time machine's windshield wipers were currently going at a balanced pace, and the soft, yet steady, pitter patter of the rain on the top of the time machine was beginning to make Wilbur a little sleepy. He yawned and reached for his bottle of water and bologna sandwich, taking a huge bite from the sandwich and taking long gulps from the water bottle.

In the backseat, Krys still slept peacefully. Wilbur had noticed that their flickering spells were beginning to draw closer together, about one every two hours or so, and they were beginning to last a little longer than they had been, up to five minutes in some cases. Wilbur took this as a sign to hurry up, and had taken full advantage of Krys's sleeping to step on the gas pedal a little.

Wilbur gazed sleepily out the window in front of him. He knew he had to land soon, and switch places with Krys, before he fell dead on his feet. He knew they didn't have much longer til they reached California, another eighteen hours maybe thanks to his speed increase, and he seriously needed to stretch his legs. They had already fallen asleep on him twice in the past thirty minutes.

Wilbur flew the time machine a little lower to the ground as the air around him grew lighter and lighter as the morning grew older. The rain still pelted the window, and judging by the dark storm clouds along the horizon, Wilbur knew it was going to be a bumpy ride the rest of the way, and he wanted to find a spot to stop before he and Krys traded places and headed into the storms.

Finally, Wilbur spotted a small drop off about twenty miles in front of him. Snow still coated the trees here, even with the rain, and the way the snow frosted the large pine trees below the drop off reminded Wilbur of his mom's old snowglobe she got out every Christmas that she had gotten from her grandmother when she was a little girl.

Wilbur gently lowered the time machine towards the drop off, finally connecting with the earth a few minutes later. Wilbur killed the engine and stretched. Behind him, Krys, awakened by the small bump from landing, did the same.

"Where are we?" She yawned. "What time is it?"

"We're almost in California." Wilbur answered. "It's around eight in the morning."

Krys yawned again. "Why didn't you wake me up?" She asked.

"You needed the sleep." Wilbur said. "Besides, I had a lot on my mind, and making sure we didn't run into anything helped me focus."

Krys smirked. "So why did you land?"

"Because, if I don't get out of this thing and stretch my legs for a few minutes, I'm going to go crazy and never be able to walk again in my life." Wilbur said, pulling on his black jacket and opening the hatch.

Krys rolled her eyes, but smirked again anyway, and rummaged through her suitcase until she found her jeans jacket, which she proceeded to tug on as she jumped from the time machine onto the ground.

"Ah, that's better!" Wilbur said, stretching again and walking towards the edge of the drop off.

"Yeah." Krys agreed. She surveyed the area around her for a moment, her eyes narrowing when she spotted a grey car about ten feet back from where Wilbur had landed the time machine. It was partially parked in the trees, which would explain why Wilbur hadn't seen it, and it appeared to have been abandoned for a little while. She walked over towards it, looking around for anyone.

Krys blew on the frosted windows for a minute, rubbing it as she did to get a good view of the backseat. A blanket was rumpled up in the floorboard on the driver's side, and an old Coke can was sitting in the cup holder in the front seat. Someone had used this car, recently it looked like. But what was it doing out here? Krys suspected from the lack of cars screeching and honking at each other that they were far from the nearest highway, wherever that was.

Krys tried the back door, and was surprised to find it unlocked. This car had definitely been abandoned. She poked her head inside to get a better look at it, picking up the blanket as she did. It was freezing cold from being in an unused car for an undisclosed amount of time, but it still smelled lightly of fabric softener. Krys shook it for a minute, and laid it across the backseat to get a better look at it.

Krys activated her Cyber-Optics to get a closer look. She scanned the blanket, not really knowing what she was looking for, and was surprised when she found something on the edge of the blanket, caught between two of the threads.

It was a blonde hair.

And not just any blonde hair, either. This hair seemed to defy gravity, as though it had gel holding it in place like a twig, while usually a hair of this length, which was around six or seven inches long, was flimsy and thin.

Krys knew without a doubt it was one of Lewis's hairs.

"Wilbur, come here, quick!" Krys screamed, looking back at Wilbur, who had gone over to the precipice of the drop off and was looking out at the view as the rain fell harder. Krys could see the storm clouds on the horizon, and lightning flashed as it made contact with the ground, but they were still too far away to hear the thunder.

"Wilbur, come here; I think I found something!" Krys called again as she clutched the hair between her fingers as she walked towards Wilbur. "I think I found Lewis's kidnapper's car!"

Wilbur turned. "Krys, check out the view here!" He said, turning back and walking closer to the edge. "It looks like Mom's old snowglobe!"

Krys, while she agreed with her dad, sighed in aggravation. "Yeah, I know, but if you're done taking note of this Polaroid moment, look what I found!" She held up the hair between her thumb and index finger.

Wilbur, who had reached the edge of the drop off, turned. "What is it?" He asked.

"I think I found something!" Krys said. "I think it might be one of Lewis's hairs!"

Wilbur's eyes widened and he took a step to come towards her, when suddenly, the earth beneath him began to give way, and Wilbur disappeared over the precipice of the cliff.

"_Wilbur!_" Krys screamed, stuffing the hair into her jacket pocket as she ran towards the cliff where Wilbur had disappeared. She dropped to her knees near the edge, and saw that Wilbur had caught himself on the edge by one hand.

"Krys, help me!"

"Hold on, Dad!" Krys screamed as she laid on her stomach. She reached over the edge and held out her hand to Wilbur's free one. "Take my hand!" She commanded.

Wilbur did as he was told and grabbed Krys's hand. Just as he did, both of their hands flickered at the same time.

"No, not now!" Krys said. She expected her hand to go right through Wilbur's, like a person walking through a hologram would, but instead she kept a firm grip on his hand. After about a minute, the flickering went away, and Krys began to try and haul Wilbur back onto the cliff.

"Hurry!" Wilbur said. "I can't hang on much longer!" He could feel his hand hanging onto the edge beginning to slip.

"I'm hurrying!" Krys said, gritting her teeth as she pulled. "Try to get a foothold on the cliff and help me by walking up!"

Wilbur swung his legs towards the cliff, finally finding them and planting them flat on the vertical rock.

"Got it!" He said.

"Good! Now, start walking!" Krys said.

Wilbur gulped, and tried hard not to look down as he started to walk up the side of the cliff towards the top as Krys continued to help him by hauling him by his hand. It wasn't easy, but it was working.

"You're almost there!" Krys grunted. "Come on!"

Wilbur continued, slowly but surely on his way up. The farther he went, the more of a grip he had on both Krys's hand, and the edge of the cliff. Finally, after another agonizing two minutes, Wilbur pulled himself up to the top and over the precipice.

Krys let go of his hand, and fell backwards onto her back, panting as she did. Wilbur did the same for a moment, before he sat back up.

"Are…you…alright?" Krys panted. Wilbur nodded.

"I think so." He said, grinning. "Thanks."

"Hey, I really didn't have a choice." Krys said, grinning back. "If I let you fall, we'd never find Lewis, and I'd cease to exist!"

Wilbur laughed. "That's true." He looked back at the edge. "C'mon and let's get away from the edge, in case the rest of this decides to fall on us."

Krys picked herself off the ground and dusted off her jacket. "Gladly." She said.

"Now what was it you wanted to show me?" Wilbur asked. "You think you found one of Lewis's hairs?"

Krys nodded and pulled the hair from her jacket pocket, relieved that it hadn't been lost in her frantic attempt to save Wilbur. She held it up, and Wilbur took it.

"I think it's his." She said. "Usually, hair is flimsy and airy. This one is like a toothpick." She said. She reached up and plucked a hair from her cowlick and held it up. "See?"

Wilbur nodded, looking at the hair in his hand. "This is definitely Dad's hair." He said. "I'd know it anywhere."

"Who wouldn't?" Krys asked, taking it back from him. She carefully placed it in her pocket again. "We'd better keep this. You never know when it might come in handy."

Wilbur nodded in agreement. "Now let's get out of here." He said.

Krys nodded. "Let's go." She said.

With that, the two ran back to the time machine. Wilbur climbed in the backseat to try and get some sleep while Krys took her place at the steering wheel. She started the time machine, closed the hatch, and the two resumed their journey toward California.

* * *

**Please review!**

**Hehe, I thought I might tease you guys with the title here. :) Not a cliffhanger! You know what I mean, though.**

**-Robi**


	12. California Dreaming

**Whoo! Here's the next chapter! I updated again!**

**Sorry this took a little while, and sorry it's short. It's so short, I'm embarassed to call it a chapter. /**

**But, again, sometimes short chapters are really important! **

**And just FYI, I won't be able to update at all this coming week, as much as I would love to. Next week is my last week of school, and it's also all of my final exams, and I have a lot more to take this year than I did last year, so I'm going to be up to my ears in homework and textbooks. But, after that, I'm officially a junior in high school! Whoo!**

**Oh, and I'm officially 16!! **

**Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: California Dreaming

--California, 2009--

_Lewis was running. _

_He had no idea where he was going as his feet were propelled forward. He had an awful sense of foreboding, and he knew that whatever the reason, he had to get to his unknown destination, and he had to get there as fast as he possibly could. _

_He came to the end of a hallway. He stopped to catch his breath, trying to decide which way to go; left or right, right or left? Lewis knew that if he chose the wrong way, the results could be disastrous._

_As Lewis contemplated which way was best, a small voice at the back of his head kept telling him to go left. Lewis wasn't sure why. Would turning left take him to where he needed to go, and reveal its purpose? _

_Lewis decided to listen to the voice, and turned left. He ran down the hallway, pushing his glasses back onto his nose as he did. _

_"Lewis!" _

_Lewis stopped suddenly at the sound of his name being called. It wasn't in his head this time. It was real. _

_Lewis looked around frantically, searching out whoever had called out to him. At the end of the hall he spied a door, and he charged towards it, throwing it open upon reaching it. _

_Cleo Wilson stood in the center of the dark room under a single light, smiling, eyes narrowed. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and something Lewis couldn't identify danced in her eyes. Amusement? Cruelty? Lewis wasn't sure._

_"What's going on?" Lewis demanded. "I heard someone calling my name, and I know it wasn't you!" He looked around the dark room. "Hello?" He called. "Is anyone there?" _

_Cleo laughed. "I knew you would come." She said. "I knew you couldn't resist the pathetic cries for help from your best friend." _

_Lewis's heart skipped a beat and he narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?" He dared to ask. _

_At that moment, Kevin stepped into the light, pushing a black haired boy towards Lewis. The boy fell to the ground, and even before he looked up, Lewis knew it was Wilbur._

_Lewis's eyes flashed with fury. "Wilbur!" He said, dropping to his knees beside his best friend, untying the gag that had been done around Wilbur's mouth. _

_"Lewis, you have to get out of here!" Wilbur said. He struggled against the ropes that were tied around his body furiously. "They're lying to you! They have no plans to set you free! They – "_

_Wilbur was cut off by Kevin stuffing another gag into his mouth and hauling him back to his feet. Kevin held him gruffly, and when he tried to get away, something shiny was produced, and once Wilbur caught sight of it, his struggling stopped, and his brown eyes were raised to Lewis, and he could see the panic in his future son's face. _

_Lewis felt his parental instincts flare up again. "Let him go, Cleo; he has nothing to do with this!" _

_Cleo laughed. "Oh, Cornelius," She said. "Don't you get it? Each minute you waste is a minute your little friend here has less of." _

_Lewis and Wilbur exchanged a worried and confused glance. _

_"I know he's your son, boy." Cleo said. "And if you don't finish that virus soon, I'm afraid you'll never see him again." _

_"I told you to leave my family out of this!" Lewis spat, the fury like venom in his voice. _

_Cleo tsked and glanced at her watch. "Time is ticking away, little Cornelius." She said. "If you want to save your son, you'd better hurry." _

_Kevin shoved Wilbur forward again. A sudden chill filled the room, and Lewis's attention was brought to a small window on the wall he hadn't noticed before. Outside, dark, ominous storm clouds were rolling in at a fast pace, lightning flashing between them. _

_But these were no ordinary storm clouds. Lewis had seen these storm clouds before, when Doris had taken over the future. _

_Wilbur saw the clouds, too, and his eyes went wide in horror. He then began to fade out, and turn into dim light. He looked back at Lewis for help, but Lewis could do nothing but watch as his best friend and future son was sucked out of the window and into the sky. _

_"Wilbur!" Lewis screamed, running to the window. "Wilbur!" He watched the clouds roll for a minute before turning back to Cleo, who still smiled at him. _

_"Tick tock, Cornelius." She said. "Time is ticking away…"_

Lewis sat up straight in his bed, panting hard as he did. It took him a minute to register where he was, when he finally realized he was in his room in Cleo's house in California. He groaned and closed his eyes, hoping to open them and find himself safe and sound at home in his own, familiar bed, with his family close by, hoping to find this was all just a horrible dream.

But, alas, when he opened his eyes, he was still in the windowless room that Cleo had banished him to.

Lewis's breath eventually regulated and he began to ruminate about his dream.

_Nightmare,_ he reminded himself. _That was no dream._

What did his nightmare mean? Lewis knew he was worried about his best friend, and his future family. Did this dream…mean anything? Or was it simply his emotions playing tricks on him, causing him to dream about what he had been worried about for the past couple of days?

Lewis shook his head. _It was just a dream, Lewis._ He said to himself. _Wilbur and the others are fine. Try and get some rest._

With that, Lewis kicked off his shoes and curled up into a small ball, closing his eyes, and drifting back into a light sleep.

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**Review? Please? -puppy dog eyes-**

**-Robin**


	13. Of Showers and Rainstorms

**Look! Look! -waves hand and points to chapter- I updated!!**

**I have good news! I finally got my inspiration for this story back! Whoo! When I first started this story, it was the day after I had had to put my beloved cat and best friend of ten years to sleep, so I was going through a dark and tough time in my life right there, because I had also just gotten over the lose of the Gran, who had died eleven months prior. I don't think I ever really had any motivation to write this, I just wrote it to keep my mind off things, and if there's something I've learned in my years of writing, never do that. You end up killing the story, or making it go very slow...**

**Anyway, so yes! I'm going to be updating more! It's summer, I can stay up late, and I've got inspiration! As a few of my friends would put it, woot!**

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Chapter Thirteen: Of Showers and Rainstorms

--Somewhere in Arizona, 2009--

"Ugh, I have got to find a place where I can take a shower or I'm going to go crazy!" Krys said as she tried to run a brush through her tangled hair. "Ouch!"

Wilbur rolled his eyes. "Girls." He said. "You and your hygiene!"

Krys yanked the brush free, finally pulling the knot along with it. "Hey, look whose talking Mr. I-Take-At-Least-Two-Baths-A-Day!" She retorted. "You're the one who uses up all the hot water back at home! Do I have to remind you about the last time you were in the future when I first came to get you? By the time you and Dad were done, Lewis and I had only cold water that's temperature was equal to that of the Arctic!"

Wilbur grinned. "Hey, beauty before brains."

Krys rolled her eyes and grabbed her pillow and whacked Wilbur in the head with it.

"Just find a place for us to land where we won't be in the line of fire. We need to change out the fuel tubes anyway, and if I don't find _someplace_ to grab a shower, I'm going to go nuts!" She said.

"Alright, alright." Wilbur said. He took the time machine a little lower, to where he was just above traffic on the freeway. "I'll look for one of those rest stops. Maybe they'll have a shower."

Krys nodded as she rummaged through her suitcase for a set of clothes to wear. "Good idea." She said. "And you're getting one, too, dude."

Wilbur shrugged. "Fine, Ms. Hygiene." He said.

"Two-Baths-A-Day." Krys mumbled.

Wilbur ignored her. He had spotted a sign on the side of the road that read "rest stop, three miles."

"There's a rest stop three miles from here." He said. "I'll park the time machine in the woods a little ways so no one will see us."

Krys nodded. "Okay." She rummaged through her bag until she found her toothbrush. "Found it!"

"Found what?"

"My toothbrush." She answered. "And I'm assuming you want yours."

"Yeah, I guess while you're at it, get mine. And a clean pair of clothes. And my pouf and soap. And my shampoo and conditioner."

Krys smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Two-Baths-A-Day." She said.

"Hey, you can't tell me you don't like to be clean!"

"I wouldn't be complaining that I need a shower if I could go more than forty-eight hours without one, now would I?" She smirked again.

Wilbur, unable to answer that question, narrowed his eyes and turned his attention back to finding a place to land. The small visitor's center appeared after a minute, and Wilbur finally found a small clearing, landing the time machine in it. He hit the hatch and he and Krys climbed out. Wilbur stretched his arms, yawning as he did.

"Boy, does it feel good to be out of that time machine!" He said.

"Same here, brother." Krys said. "Now, remember, we're twins, don't forget."

"Twins?" Wilbur asked. "I thought we were cousins!"

"We are, around Lucille and Bud. But I think Bud had a good point when he said we could pass as twins if we had to. It might be safer that way." Krys explained. "I think us saying we're twins will be a lot easier to believe than saying we're cousins with twin dads whose kids look like each other."

"True…" Wilbur said. "Alright, I won't forget."

"Good." Krys grinned. "Now let's see if they have a shower before I pull my hair out, and yours too!"

The two carefully made their way towards the edge of the woods, where they peered out into the small picnic area that was about twenty feet from the large visitor's center. Once they were sure no one was watching, they darted out and onto the sidewalk, walking with the rest of the visitors to the center, where right at the door, they were warmly welcomed with a sign that read "showers inside."

"Sweet!" Wilbur said. _Shower, here I come!_

"Okay, so once we're both done with our showers, we'll meet back at the time machine, got it?" Krys said.

Wilbur nodded. "Got it."

With that, the two parted and went off to the different showers.

--One hour later--

The hatch to the time machine opened, and Krys hopped inside, closing it as fast as she could as the rain outside pelted down. Wilbur, who had been lying on his back in the backseat with Krys's music buds in his ear, smirked and sat up.

Krys shivered and rubbed her arms, trying to warn them.

"Geez, for Arizona, that's _cold_ rain!" She said.

"Tell me about it." Wilbur said. "It was just starting when I was finished, and it was pretty cold then, too."

"How long have you been done?" Krys asked.

"About thirty minutes." Wilbur said.

"There was a line in the girl's showers. And to top it off, the water was cold! That's another reason why I'm freezing!" She reached over the seat and grabbed one of the extra blankets from the floor, and quickly wrapped it around herself.

"Really?" Wilbur asked, grinning teasingly. "There was hardly a line at all in the guy's room, and the water was warm."

Krys glared at him. "Then consider yourself lucky, buster." She said.

"So how much longer do you think we have until we get to California?" Wilbur asked.

"I don't know." Krys said, looking at the tracking device. "I'd say that at the speed we've been going, about…five to seven hours."

"Who's driving?"

"I guess I will." Krys said. "You've been driving a while. My turn."

Wilbur shrugged. "Whatever." He said. "How long do you think it will take us to find Lewis?"

"Not long, I hope." Krys said. "But you never know. It depends on where in California he is. If he's in a big city, it could take a while, even with the tracking devices. And even if he's not in a big city, we might want to wait until we know we can talk to him without getting caught."

Wilbur nodded. "Let's get going, then." He said. He looked down as he flickered again. "I think the flickering spells are getting closer together and are lasting longer. I had one back in the showers."

"Yeah, so did I." Krys said. "We'd better hurry."

--Lewis's Room, Cleo's Lair, Unknown Location--

Lewis sighed as he continued to type in the seemingly endless series of codes into the computer. The virus was almost complete. Now all that was left was to reverse the coding and create the antivirus as well, before he told Cleo it was finished.

Somehow in the midst of all the numbers and letters, Lewis began to think about his nightmare the night before. He had done a good enough job of forgetting it up till then, immersing himself in his work. He had never had any trouble forgetting his problems; inventing had always been his refuge.

But this wasn't inventing. This was coding.

And this was more than just a problem. This could be a reality.

Lewis couldn't shake the image of Wilbur disappearing from his mind. Something about it haunted him. Maybe it was the father inside of him; or maybe it was the best friend in him. Maybe it was both. It was hard to pinpoint exactly. Maybe it was the fact there may or may not be something he could do to stop it.

Lewis shook his head, trying to force the horrible memory back to the darkest part of the hippocampus he could find. This was one memory he knew he would never want to remember.

A sharp knock on the door caused Lewis to jump slightly, and he turned around to find Anthony standing in the doorway. He held his lunch, which was the same as it had been the past couple days: a peanut butter sandwich, a bottle of water, and an apple. It was never anything more or less, and it was never much, but it was enough to keep Lewis going and focused on the task at hand.

"Here's your lunch." Anthony said, bringing it over to him and setting it down on the table. "Cle wants to know when you think it will be done."

Lewis turned his attention back to the computer screen and began to type again. "I'd say another three days." He lied. "Then it should be fully functional."

Anthony nodded, then looked at his feet for a minute.

"Look, kid," He said. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I never wanted to. Honest." Lewis stopped typing, and glanced at Anthony for a moment before continuing, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "I know you're pretty upset with me, since I was the one that kidnapped you, but I just wanted say I was sorry." He started back towards the door. "I'll be back up later with your dinner."

Anthony was just about to turn the doorknob to walk back out when the kid called back to him.

"Lewis." He said. "My name is Lewis."

Anthony turned back around. The kid had never turned around from the computer screen, but he had stopped typing for a minute.

"Lewis. Okay, then." Anthony said. "I'll be back up later with your dinner."

With that, he turned the doorknob and walked out. His hand lingered over the lock button for a minute, before he left it unlocked and continued on his walk down the hall.

Lewis waited until he was sure Anthony was gone before he grabbed the old journal containing the codes for the antivirus from the bottom drawer. He began to write down everything he had typed in so far. Not much longer now…

Lewis had no way of knowing that his best friends were on their way to rescue him, and at that very second, had crossed the border into California.

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**Please review? Anyone? I'll sic my crazy kitty on you if you don't! **

**-Robin**


	14. Reunited Robinsons

**

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This has been the most stressful couple of weeks I have had in a while. Camp and Arkansas were not this stressful!**

**Alright, for one thing, I am very lucky to have a mother at the moment. My mother had a brush with death this past week due to a blood clot in her right lung, which caused her to develop pnuemonia. Had my dad not taken her to the doctor last Friday, my mom would be in Heaven with Jesus right now. I have had insomnia for the past week due to this fact, and I've been at the hospital with her for the past five days, sitting in those dead-awful chairs they have there. **

**I'm also currently learning bass guitar for the band I'm in, and I've had a week to learn two songs. My time was extended to two weeks due to practice cancellation this week (I wouldn't have been able to go anyway), so that's better, but that's just another reason I haven't updated. **

**But anyway, thanks to the long hours sitting in the hospital chairs in the ICU, I am updating! I'm proud of myself. This story is really picking up, almost over with, after almost a year of having it. :) **

**So here's the next chapter! Sorry for the lame excuses! **

**EDIT- Sorry for that. Some errors were brought to my attention, and I fixed them. Thankies!**

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Chapter Fourteen: Reunited Robinsons

--TCTF Headquarters, 2067--

Wilbur sighed as he stared at food in front of him later that night. He had been picking at the spaghetti and vegetables ever since Carl had placed them in front of him, and had barely eaten any of it, and now it was growing even colder than it already was, and thus, much less appetizing.

Finally, he sighed, and put down his fork, leaning back into his chair.

Cornelius, Franny, and Cassie all exchanged a worried glance. They were worried about Krys and the younger Wilbur, too, but of course, Wilbur was the one that was most worried. In a way, they knew he blamed himself for whatever was going on, and there was nothing they could say to make him think otherwise. Being part-way in control of the timestream had its negative effects…

Cornelius chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "Wilbur, I haven't had to tell you to eat your vegetables since you were eighteen years old. What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Wilbur asked, looking up. "Oh, nothing."

"Wilbur, we're worried about them, too, but you've got to eat something, sweetie." Franny said. "Now eat your vegetables."

Wilbur sighed and picked up his fork, stabbing a carrot and stuffing it in his mouth.

"Thank you." Franny said, content.

"Come on, Wilbur, it's not like you to be so quiet." Art said.

"Yeah, you haven't been this quiet since your gerbil Snuggles died when you were in college." Carl said. "What's up?"

Cassie snickered for a minute, then looked at her husband. "You had a gerbil named Snuggles?" She asked.

"He came with the name." Wilbur mumbled defensively. "And I'm just worried, that's all."

"We're worried, too, Wilbur," Cornelius said. "But you need to eat something. You'll need to keep up your energy."

Wilbur sighed. "I guess you're right." He said.

"Besides," Gaston added. "You might hear from them, and they might need your help. What will you do if you don't have any energy?"

"I get the point." Wilbur said. "I'll eat something." He wound his fork into the spaghetti and shoved it in his mouth, his face instantly showing that he had not realized until just then it was cold.

"Gak!" He said once he had swallowed. "Why didn't someone tell me it was cold?"

The family laughed. "We thought you knew!" Tallulah said.

"And even if we did know, we thought it would be funnier to watch you eat it." Cassie teased. Wilbur glared at her.

"Let me heat it up for you, buddy." Carl said, reaching over and picking up Wilbur's plate. He opened his chest to reveal an old fashioned microwave, which he set the plate in and set the timer to a minute and a half. Once it was done, Carl opened the door, setting a plate of warm spaghetti back in front of Wilbur.

"Thanks, Carl." Wilbur said.

"So vwhat exactly is ze plan, vWilbur?" Billie asked.

Wilbur swallowed. "I'm staying at headquarters tonight. I've got agents Mandy, Stacy, Katherine, Mike, and Joey on standby, in case anything happens and we have to go help them out in the past. I've also got Agent Cali at the timescanner, monitoring every second of the timestream, and Mandy will take over if she gets too tired." He explained. "We're also going to see if we can't get Krys's time machine's hookup back up and running from here. If we're able to do that, we'll be able to see where they are."

"What about if you get tired? Will you come home?"

Wilbur shook his head.

"No. I'm going to borrow a few of Grandma's caffeine patches, if that's okay, and I have an old air mattress in my office closet if I need it from when were snowed in three years ago. I'll be fine. If I need anything, I'll call."

Cassie chewed her lip. "Okay…" She said. "But as soon as you hear something, I want a status report!"

Wilbur smiled. "Alright." He said. He stood up. "I'm off to headquarters. You know how to get a hold of me." He planted a kiss on his mother's and his wife's cheeks, then left, grabbing his jacket and hovercar keys on the way out.

He stepped under the travel tube that would take him to the garage in the living room. He opened the hatch to his hovercar, and hopped inside, opening the garage door and flying off into the sky.

As he did, his hands flickered.

--California, 2009--

"The tracking device says Lewis is about thirty miles outside of San Diego." Krys said, looked over her shoulder at Wilbur in the backseat. "We should be there in about two hours."

Wilbur grinned. "Great!" He said. His grin faded as he and Krys flickered again. Each time they had a flickering spell, it stretched out longer, and more and more of them flickered. It had started out with their stomachs and torsos, then their arms and hands, but now it had spread to their feet as well. They both knew it was only a matter of time before their heads and legs joined the ranks, and after that…they didn't know. All they knew was that they had to find Lewis, and they had to find him fast.

"I think we should probably fly around and find they place where they're keeping him, then find a place to hide the time machine." Krys went on. "That way, we can use the Invisi-belts and find him on foot."

"Good idea." Wilbur agreed. He leaned back in the seat and stared up at the sky as they flew onwards. He wondered what Lewis was up to…

--Lewis's Room, Cleo's Lair--

They were finished.

The virus and its antivirus were both one hundred percent finished.

Lewis finished copying the last part of the antivirus onto a chip, ejected it from the computer, and slipped it between the pages of the old journal, returning it to the safety of the bottom desk drawer. The virus was also copied onto a chip, and it was sitting on the desk in front of him.

Lewis saved his work for the last time, and sat back in his chair.

Now all he had to do was give Cleo the virus, and hopefully find a way to escape and find his way home. Lewis was famous now, and had been since the invention of his Memory Scanner. Someone was bound to recognize him and help him if he went into town…wherever town _was_…

Before he knew it, he had dozed off.

--Krys's Time Machine--

"There it is!" Krys said, pointing out the front window a house in the middle of a large stretch of land. "That's where the tracking device says Lewis is!"

"We did it." Wilbur said, grinning. "We found him!"

Krys shook her head, but the grin never left her face.

"Not technically." She said. "We've only found where they're keeping him. We haven't found him yet."

Wilbur raised an eyebrow and sat back. "Party pooper." He said.

Krys laughed, too happy to find anything to retort back. "We should also probably wait for nightfall to try and find him." She pointed to the few cars parked in front of the house. "They're home."

Wilbur nodded. "Good idea." He said. He surveyed the surrounding area for a place to park the time machine, where they were sure to be able to put on the cloaking device and no one run into it watering flowers or something. He finally spotted a place underneath two trees in the backyard, about two hundred yards from the house. "There," He said pointing. "We can park the time machine there."

Krys nodded and slowly guided the time machine downwards, landing it between the two trees with ease. She made sure the invisibility was on before she switched the time machine off.

"How what?" Wilbur asked.

"We wait."

--Later that night--

Krys shook Wilbur awake.

"Wilbur, wake up!" She said. "They've gone to bed! We can go in now!"

Wilbur blinked awake. "Huh? Wha?"

Krys rolled her eyes. "I said everyone inside's gone to bed. We can try and find a way in now."

Wilbur sat up, rubbed his eyes, stretched, and yawned at the same time. "Alright, let's go." He said.

Krys opened the hatch to the time machine and hopped out, Wilbur following close behind. She handed him one of the Invisi-belts, and he slipped it around his waist.

"Ready?" Krys asked. Wilbur nodded.

"Ready." He said.

"Then let's go." Krys said. "Put on your Cyber-Optics. That way, you can use the thermo-vision to make sure we don't get separated."

"Good idea." Wilbur agreed, and he pulled the glasses from his pocket, and slipped them on his nose. "Ready."

With that, the two teens pressed the buttons on their belts and disappeared.

"Alright, let's go." Krys said.

The two jogged towards the house, finally reaching it and pressing their backs against it. Krys looked around, trying to find a place where they could get inside. She finally spotted the TV satellite antenna that ran up alongside the house, and grinned.

"Wilbur, come on!" She said. "I think I might have found a way inside! All we have to do is climb on the roof using the antenna, then find a skylight or something to get inside!"

Wilbur nodded and walked over to the antenna, climbing up with Krys not far behind. He jumped the small distance from the antenna to the roof, and Krys did the same.

"Look for a vent or something we can use to get in." Krys commanded.

"I'm looking, I'm looking!" Wilbur said. "Sheesh, who died and made you captain? I'm the future founder of the TCTF, you know."

"_Future_ founder." Krys reminded him with a smirk. "You're not captain yet."

Wilbur muttered something, and the two continued on their search. Wilbur searched the east side of the roof while Krys searched the west side. Krys wasn't exactly sure what she would find, if anything at all, but she knew she had to try before they reverted to more…illegal practices.

Suddenly, Krys spotted a vent near the end of the roof. It was small, not large at all, and looked like it was the vent to an old fireplace. She tried to lift it, grinning in joy when she found it loose.

"Wilbur!" She called. "I think I found something!" She said.

Wilbur jogged over to join her. "What?" He asked. "The last time you said that, I nearly got killed falling off a cliff!"

"I think I found a way in!" Krys said, tugging at the vent covering again. It was loose, but there were still screws holding it in place. "Gah!" She said. "Hand me that screwdriver we brought with us."

Wilbur blinked at her. "Screwdriver?"

Krys gave an exasperated sigh. "_Please_ tell me you brought the screwdriver from the time machine glove compartment." She said.

Wilbur shook his head. "You never told me to."

"It should have been obvious we needed it!" Krys said.

Wilbur put up his hands in his defense. "Hey, I didn't even know there was a screwdriver in the glove compartment. The only things I knew were in there was a can of pink spray paint, an air horn, and the time machine instruction manual."

"Sorry." Krys muttered. "I just want to get in, find Lewis, and get this over with." She said as she looked down at her flickering hands.

"And you think I don't?" Wilbur asked. "I'll go get the screwdriver. Hold on." He jogged back over to the cable antenna and jumped on, shimmying down.

Meanwhile, Krys turned back to the vent and tried to loosen it a bit more. The screws weren't screwed in all the way, but they were still in there enough to keep a fourteen year old on a mission out.

Suddenly, without warning, the cover came off. Krys grinned and looked back over her shoulder. She could see the thermal outline of Wilbur at the end of the field, and he was jogging back towards her.

He finally reached the house again and began to quietly climb the antenna again.

"Here." Wilbur said, handing it to her.

"Thanks, but I already got it." Krys said, stuffing the screwdriver in her denim jacket's pocket anyway. "We might need this later. Come on, and be quiet."

Wilbur followed her to the shaft. Krys looked at him.

"I'll go first." She said. "Turn off your Invisi-belt for now. We don't want to use all its energy if we can help it."

With that, Krys slipped down the shaft. Wilbur was behind her in a second.

Wilbur landed with a thud at the bottom of the shaft. He looked around in the dark room, which appeared to be an attic, and as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he noticed Krys was nowhere to be found.

"Krys?" He whispered into the black. "Krys, where are you?"

"_Get…off…_" Someone hissed quietly.

"Krys?" Wilbur asked. "Is that you? Where are you?"

"Look down!"

Wilbur looked down, and realized he was sitting in the middle of Krys's back. He quickly scrambled off of her. Krys pulled herself off the floor, brushing herself off and straightening her glasses.

"Sorry." He said, grinning nervously. Krys just shook her head.

"Next time wait a minute before you follow me down the shaft." She said. She looked around the room before Wilbur nudged her.

"Hey, what's that over there?"

Krys squinted in the dark. At the far end of the room, she could see a very faint light.

"Come on!" She said. "Maybe that's where Lewis is!"

She and Wilbur quickly, but quietly, walked over to the sheet of light, which turned out to be coming from under a door. Krys placed her hand on the doorknob.

"Alright, have one hand on your Invisi-belt, just in case." She instructed. Wilbur nodded.

Krys turned the doorknob to reveal a smaller part of the attic, with light streaming up from the ladder that led to it in the floor. The light wasn't coming from a light, as far as Krys could tell, but was more like the glow of a computer or TV screen than anything. Krys guessed it was a computer screen due to the lack of sound.

Wilbur took the lead. "Come on!" He said.

The two teens took deep breaths and tip toed down the ladder, as quietly as possibly possible.

They turned around and there, not far from them in front of a computer, was Lewis.

The future father-daughter team grinned and walked over to him. Krys stayed behind a bit in the shadows as Wilbur walked towards his father. He put out a hand and shook Lewis's shoulder.

"Lewis." He said. "Lewis, it's Wilbur. Wake up!"

Lewis stirred and blinked against the almost blinding light of the computer screen in the otherwise dark room. He felt someone's hand on his shoulder, and when he turned to face the owner, his eyes widened and he smiled for what seemed like the first time in weeks.

"_Wilbur!_" Lewis said, leaping up from his seat to envelope his future son in a hug. "What in the world are you doing here? How did you find me? Where's the future you?"

"He doesn't know we're here." Krys said, coming into the light. She grinned.

"Krys!" Lewis also hugged his future granddaughter.

"Hey, Grandad." Krys said, hugging Lewis back.

Lewis pulled back. "How did you two get here, and why are you guys alone?"

"We got here using Krys's time machine." Wilbur said.

"We used the microchip I implanted under your skin last summer to track you all the way across the country." Krys went on. "We had to disable the time machine's tracking device and radios so Dad couldn't follow us and bring us back."

Lewis blinked. "Why did you do that?" He asked. "Do you guys have any idea how stupid that was? You should have left this to the professionals!"

"We had to!" Wilbur said. "Our existence depends on us rescuing you!"

"What do you mean?" Lewis asked, his heart skipping a beat at the memory of his dream.

Wilbur and Krys exchanged a glance before Wilbur nodded. Krys held up her hand as it flickered once again.

"We're fading."

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**Yay! They found Lewis!**

**Review, please!**

**-Robi**


	15. Captured!

**Wow...three weeks? It's been three weeks since I last updated this? Wow...that went by fast!**

**I literally sat down tonight and typed up this entire chapter. All in one night, save maybe...a page of it? I've been working away at my new novel, _Gideon, _for the past three weeks, which is why I haven't updated. I've also been busy with band and Segment Two driver's ed (I passed!! I can go take my drive test and get my license now!!) and getting ready for school to start the 2nd. I'm going to be a junior in high school! Whoo! **

**So here's the next chapter. I must warn you, it is a tad bit violent...no blood or cursing or anything, just a couple treats is all. I promise, this is as violent as it gets! Yo promito! **

**Don't forget to review at the end!**

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Chapter Fifteen: Captured!

--California, 2009--

Lewis's eyes widened. It was just like in his nightmare…

"We think your kidnapping might have something to do with it." Krys continued. "Dad sent us back to this time to see if we couldn't find any clues, but when we started to disappear…"

"We took matters into our own hands." Wilbur finished.

Lewis blinked. "It can't be…" He said, mostly to himself.

Krys frowned. "Lewis, what's wrong?"

Lewis shook off his shock and looked back at his friends. "A couple nights ago, I had a nightmare." He said. "In it…"

He never got to finish. The sound of footsteps nearing the bedroom door caught his attention, and he froze.

"Quick! You have to leave!" He said. "Someone's coming!"

He started pushing the two teens back towards the ladder. "You have to hide! If they find you here, it could be disastrous!"

As much as Krys and Wilbur wanted to stay and stand up to the people that were putting their future and best friend in danger, they both knew that Lewis was right. They would be of no help to him if they got caught.

The doorknob rattled.

"Go!" Lewis said.

"No, we're not leaving you behind!" Krys said. "We've come way too far!"

"I'll be fine!" Lewis said. "Just go!" His voice held almost a pleading tone.

"Wait!" Wilbur said. "The Invisi-belts!" He pressed the button on his belt, and disappeared. Krys quickly followed in tow. Lewis, satisfied for the moment, ran back to the computer, and began to type, trying to look as though he had been doing it for a while now.

A moment later, Cleo came into the room, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

_Please don't let her have heard Wilbur and Krys! _Lewis silently prayed. He tried not to look nervous as Cleo approached him.

"So," She said, casually. "How is the virus going, Cornelius?"

In the attic, looking down the ladder, Wilbur and Krys exchanged an invisible glance. _Virus? _

"It's almost done." Lewis answered without stopping to look at her.

"Good, good." Cleo said. She strolled around the attic. "Are you ready to go home?"

Lewis didn't say anything. He swallowed and bit his tongue as he continued to type.

"Because our deal said you could go home after you complete the virus." Cleo went on. "Of course, that could all change…"

"We had a deal." Lewis said through his teeth.

Cleo smiled sinisterly. "That we did." She said. "But that was before someone got in."

Lewis stopped typing. _She knows. _

"We've gotta get out of here!" Krys said. "She knows!"

"Sh!" Wilbur hissed back. "Not without Lewis!"

"Wilbur, we _have _to get out of here!" She said. "These Invisi-belts are battery powered, remember? And we can't risk getting caught!"

"We have to get Lewis out of here!" Wilbur argued back. "I'm not leaving without him!"

"What do you mean?" Lewis asked Cleo as she continued to stroll back and forth behind him like a vulture circling its dead prey. He turned around in his chair, watching Cleo through narrowed eyes as she continued to pace around him.

Cleo stopped pacing and turned to face him, placing her hands behind her back as she strolled towards him. "I know someone was here, little Cornelius." She said.

Lewis swallowed again. "There's no one here, Cleo. It's just me."

"Oh, are you sure about that?" Cleo asked as she got closer. Lewis shrank back a little in his chair as she brought her hands from behind her and placed them on either side of him on the desk, cornering him. "Because I'm quite sure I heard three voices and three pairs of feet walking around up here from downstairs. You see, my bedroom is directly below this little room of yours, and for good reason. It's so I can keep an eye on you. And I _know _there was more than just you in this room five minutes ago. I heard them. It was a boy and girl, and from the sound of things, you know them quite well. Friends of yours?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Lewis said, trying to keep the terror from his eyes. Cleo laughed.

"Oh, Cornelius, you can't lie to me." She said. "Now, answer me this: where are they?"

"I-I don't know…there was no one up here but me! I swear!" Lewis said.

"Oh, really? Would you swear on their lives?" Cleo asked. Lewis was silent. She chuckled. "Just as I thought. Someone was here." She looked him straight in the eye, ice eyes meeting blue. "Now where are they?"

--

"Wilbur!" Krys hissed as quietly as she could. "We have to leave! Now!"

"Not without Lewis!" Wilbur said.

"No, Wilbur, we'll come back for him later! Our Invisi-belts are almost out of power!"

"I don't care!" Wilbur said. "That's my dad and your grandfather down there, and our best friend! We can't leave without him!"

"We don't have a choice!" Krys said. She used her Cyber-Optics to find Wilbur's arm, and she grabbed his wrist. "Come on!"

"No!" Wilbur retorted. "And besides, we got in through a vent shaft! How do you think we're getting back up that? It's not like we have suction cup shoes!"

Krys hadn't thought of that. She groaned. At the moment, she and Wilbur were just as trapped as Lewis.

Then she saw that Cleo had left the door wide open.

"The door!" She hissed. "We have to get out that door while our Invisi-belts still have energy!"

Wilbur looked at the door, then at Lewis, who was pinned to his chair by Cleo. He knew Krys was right.

He looked down, and he saw that he was beginning to flicker again through the Cyber-Optics. He scowled and slipped the glasses into his pocket.

"Okay, you win." He said to Krys. "Let's go."

With that, the two began to slowly climb down the ladder to the floor, where they walked as silently as they could towards the door. They were almost there when suddenly, without warning, the last remaining energy of Invisi-belts ran out, and Wilbur and Krys Robinson materialized right in front of Cleo Wilson.

--

Lewis's eyes widened as he saw Krys and Wilbur materialize from the corner of his eye. They both looked down at their belts, then at each other.

"Aw, c'mon!" Wilbur complained. "That's just not fair!"

Cleo's head snapped around and she released Lewis from the cage she had made using her arms. Her eyes widened at the sight of the two teens, who had not been there a few seconds ago, then narrowed as she smiled maliciously.

"Wilbur, Krys, _run!_" Lewis yelled.

Wilbur and Krys didn't waste any time doing as they were told. They quickly ran from the room and down the stairs. They were almost to the end of the hall when they both hit something solid and fell backwards, stunned. Not two seconds later, they were hauled to their feet by Kevin and Anthony, who held their flailing fists behind them.

"Let us go!" Krys said as she kicked at Anthony's ankles.

"Not a chance, little lady." Kevin said as he finished tying Wilbur's wrists together, who winced at the tightness of he bonds, then glared at his captor. "Cleo is sure to want to see you."

Krys felt her own wrists being tied together, and she too winced at how tightly they were tied. She hoped she wouldn't lose circulation…

Kevin and Anthony pushed their captives down the hallway, back towards the staircase, where they forced the two to climb. They reached the door again, and Wilbur and Krys were shoved inside.

Lewis hadn't moved from his spot in his chair, but Cleo now stood a few feet from him, her arms crossed over her chest, an evil smile planted firmly on her face.

"Ah, yes, Cornelius's little friends." She said. "So nice of you to join us."

"Let them go!" Lewis said. "They never did anything to you!"

"Shut up." Cleo said to him. She turned back towards the others. "As I was saying, it's so nice of you to join us. I should have known Cornelius's family would send someone after him sooner or later." She raised an eyebrow. "There's just one question: how did you find him?"

"We're not telling you anything." Wilbur snarled, and Krys noted that he sounded just like her father when he did. "Now let us go!"

Cleo chuckled. "No can do." She said. "You see, you've interrupted a very important session. Your friend Cornelius here is building me a computer virus that will enable me to hack into any website known to man, including military and FBI files from the Pentagon, and he was just finishing it up when you burst in here like raccoons sneaking into a trashcan." She tsked them. "And I'm afraid I'm just going to have to keep you here until he's finished. I'm sure you understand."

"What do you need a computer virus that strong for?" Krys asked. "I mean, why do you want to hack into the Pentagon anyway?"

"That is no concern of yours, my dear." Cleo replied coolly. "Besides, now that I have you, Cornelius here has a real reason to get to work, now don't I?"

"Let them go, Cleo!" Lewis yelled. "You'll have your computer virus! Just let them go!"

"Or what?" Cleo asked smoothly.

"I won't finish it." Lewis said. "I'll delete every scrap of work, too."

"Oh, I don't think you want to do that." Cleo said. In what seemed like a split second, she grabbed Krys from Anthony and held something shiny to her neck. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was a knife.

"_NO!_" Lewis and Wilbur yelled together. Lewis suddenly picked up a clean microchip from the desk and held it in the air, as though it were a football and he was about to slam it into the ground after a touchdown.

"This is the virus information!" Lewis lied. "This is it in my hand. Let her go or I'll destroy it!"

"I don't think you're in a position to be making orders, Cornelius!" Cleo said. "Hand over the virus information or the girl gets it!"

"Don't do it." Krys said, sounding a lot braver than she felt. "Whatever you do, Lewis, don't give her that virus!"

Lewis looked from her back to Cleo.

"Give it to me, Cornelius." She said. "I don't think you want your little girlfriend here to suffer the consequences if you don't, now do you?"

"It's not finished yet." Lewis said. "I'll finish it if you let them go."

"Or, how about you finish the virus, _then_ I'll _think _about letting them go?" Cleo was growing impatient.

"Lewis, don't do it!" Wilbur said.

"Quiet!" Kevin hissed, twisting Wilbur's hands. Wilbur yelped in pain, and did as he was told, but his eyes continued to plead with Lewis.

"Don't!" Lewis said. He raised the microchip higher.

Cleo's grip on Krys tightened, and she pressed the knife closer to her throat. "Do it!"

"Lewis, no!" Wilbur said, which earned him another arm twist. He cried out in pain again.

"Stop it!" Lewis said. He sat the microchip back on the desk. "I'll do whatever you want! Just don't hurt them!"

Cleo smiled again. "Good boy." She said as she lowered the knife and pushed Krys back to Anthony. "Take them to the basement." She instructed him. "I'll be down in a minute."

Anthony nodded, and he and Kevin dragged the two teens from the room and back down the hall.

Cleo turned back to Lewis. "You have twenty four hours to finish that virus." She said. "I'd use that time wisely if I were you. Remember, every minute you waste is a minute your little friends have less of."

Lewis swallowed hard. _It was just like his nightmare…_

"Time is ticking away, little Cornelius." Cleo said as she walked to the door. "Time is ticking away."

With that, Cleo closed the door, leaving Lewis alone once again.

Lewis sat down at his desk and began to type furiously. He had twenty four hours to finish the antivirus.

He had twenty four hours to save his best friends' lives.

--

Meanwhile, Wilbur and Krys were dragged down yet another flight of stairs to the basement. Anthony flipped on the light before he and Kevin dragged the two one of the support beams, where Kevin promptly untied their hands before retying them to the support beam. He pushed the two teens down side by side, before stepping back as Cleo stepped forward.

"It's such a pity you two had to come into all this." She said, no sympathy in her voice. "I had hoped to keep extra baggage to a minimum."

"You'll never get away with this!" Krys snapped. "Lewis will find a way to stop you!"

Cleo laughed. "Oh my dear, don't you see?" She said. "As long as I have you, Cornelius is in my command. As long as his friends are in danger, he'll do anything I tell him." She smirked. "Not that does you two any good. After I activate the virus, I plan on making a trip to the capital to give the FBI my demands. With that virus, they'll have no choice but to do as I say, least they want their darkest secrets exposed to the public, and I'm sure the FBI have some interesting secrets to hide. I plan on taking little Cornelius with me, and he'll be my little servant of sorts, making sure nothing can get rid of the virus once it is activated, perfecting it, and making it expand." She smiled cruelly at the teens. "And I'm afraid there's just not room for you two."

"What do you mean?" Wilbur asked.

"I mean, I'm afraid I'll be forced to leave you here." Cleo said. "Down here in this basement, where no one will ever find you. Too bad Cornelius won't be as lucky."

"You mean…?" Wilbur's eyes widened.

Cleo nodded. "Now you're getting it, boy." She said. "Once the virus is one hundred percent fool proof, I'm going to do away with your little friend." She tsked again. "And he has such potential. Ah, well."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away.

"No!" Krys called after her. "You can't do that!"

"You won't get away with this!" Wilbur called after her. "You won't win!"

Cleo paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked back at him, laughing. "Oh, my dear, don't you see? I already have." She climbed the stairs, Anthony and Kevin at her heels. She flipped off the light at the top of the stairs and closed the door, leaving the two teenagers in complete darkness and defeat.

* * *

**Big surprise coming soon!**

**Review?**


	16. Antivirus

**I had hoped school wouldn't put me off as much as it has...but, oi, was I wrong...I'm absolutely exhausted by the end of the day, and at the end of the week, whoo, I'm ready to go to bed at like, ten, on Fridays. It's horrid. Oh well. Back to the old rut, I guess...at least I'm doing well in my classes! Straight As and Bs...though chemistry might be another story, but only because my lab partner and I have yet to finish like a bagillion labs, and our teacher hasn't entered anything new into the grades for like...two weeks...from what I've gathered, no one is doing well in that class so far...even the brainiacs! D: Oh well. I'll get it up. Ooh, and I have one of the highest grades in my government class with a 94 percent. :) Whee!**

**Oh, and WANTED: Co-author and beta reader for my Pocahontas/MTR crossover _Journey to a 'New' World? Nah!_ If you're interested, even a little, please tell me in a review or a PM. Thanks!**

**Review? Please? -puppy dog eyes-**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: Antivirus

--2009--

Cleo turned and closed the door to the basement behind her, turning the lock under the doorknob as she did so.

"I should have known they would find Cornelius sooner or later." She said with an irritated sigh. "But what I don't understand is _how_ they found him, unless he's got one of those tracking devices vets inject into dogs and cats somewhere under his skin." She laughed.

"But sending _kids_..." Anthony said softly. "That just doesn't make sense."

Cleo laughed again. "Personally, I'm glad they sent the little twits." She said. "They're easier to get rid of."

Kevin looked skeptical as he glanced at the basement door. "Are you sure this is such a good idea, Cleo?" He asked. "I mean, Anthony's right, they are just kids..."

"Who cares?" Cleo cut him off. "Like I said, easier to get rid of."

"Cle, I don't think this is the way to do it." Anthony said. "First you kidnap the Robinson kid, and now you've got his friends tied up in the basement! Now they're going to be looking for three kids instead of just one."

"Tony, Tony, Tony." Cleo said, patting her twin brother's shoulder. "You worry too much. No one is ever going to find those brats." She smiled, and Anthony saw the malice dancing in her eyes. _"Trust _me."

"What's happened to you, Cleo?" Kevin asked. "The Cleo I grew up with would never do this! The Cleo I know is a good person, and would never even think of hurting anyone, let alone a couple teenagers. This isn't the Cleo I used to know! And I want her back!"

Cleo glared at him, a flicker of bitter remembrance flashing in front of her icey eyes. "That was then and this is now!" She said. She turned away from her brother and cousin and stomped down the hallway.

"That Cleo is gone." She said softly to herself.

--The Basement--

Wilbur struggled with everything he had at the ropes that held his wrists behind the support beam. He tried twisting his wrists in the bonds, trying to wiggle them loose, only to end up burning them instead. He gave a frustrated sigh of defeat.

"It's no use, Wilbur." Krys said. "He tied them too tight."

"I noticed." Wilbur remarked. "But that doesn't mean we can just give up! Lewis is in trouble!"

"And so are we, at the moment." Krys said. "As if disappearing wasn't bad enough..."

"No kidding..." He took a deep breath. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Krys admitted. She could feel tears welling in her eyes, and she pushed them away. She was not going to cry. Now was not the time.

"There's got to be _something _we can do!" Wilbur refused to admit defeat. "Did you bring a pocketknife or anything?"

"No." Krys said. "I left it in the time machine. I didn't think we'd need it."

Wilbur cursed under his breath. Even though he couldn't see anything in the darkness of the basement, he knew he was having a flicker spell. The flickering had spread. He could feel his feet fading as the rest of his body did. Soon his head would be flickering, too, and after that...Wilbur wasn't sure..

"What are we going to do, Wilbur?" Krys asked.

"I don't know..." Wilbur said. "We're stuck, Lewis is in trouble, and we have no way of contacting the TCTF since we ditched our watches."

"So this is it, then?" Krys said. "Lewis is going to be forced to finish that virus, and we're going to cease to exist! The future is going to be altered, and there's nothing we can do about it!"

"I guess so." He sighed. "At least we went down fighting."

"Yeah." Krys agreed softly. "At least we did that."

--Upstairs--

Anthony couldn't sleep.

He tossed and turned under the covers, trying time and time again to find a comfortable position, but was unable to. He turned his pillow over to the cool side, kicked the sheets off only to become too cold in the air conditioned room and have to pull them back up to his chin, flipped from his back to his stomach to his side, even tried moving from the headboard to the foot of the bed. Each time, however, he found that he was not even a little more comfortable than before, and eventually found himself were he currently was: on his back, staring at the ceiling.

He couldn't believe what Cleo was doing.

When they were kids, Cleo was always the understanding, compassionate one. She loved helping people. She babysat the neighborhood kids. She volunteered at the animal shelter and at the nursing home. She was always very studious, and got good grades in school. She had always been the fun one, loving things like the summer fair and going to the movies on Friday nights with friends. She never got into fights, and hated violence.

But she had always been courageous and ambitious, too. She had always vowed that she would find their father someday, but Anthony was sure the thought of kidnapping had never crossed her mind. She had always been the first to try something new, like the tallest roller coaster at the amusement park, or the sushi in health class in high school.

Anthony missed that version of his twin sister. He missed the smiling, bright-eyed girl she used to be, before she finally started to develop the idea of finding their father. He wished, with all his heart, that there was some way to bring that Cleo back.

What exactly had happened to his sister, Anthony didn't know.

He wished he knew.

--The next morning, Lewis's room--

Lewis clicked 'enter' on his keyboard before finally setting back in his chair, sighing. He had been up all night completing the antivirus, and now it was finally finished.

He ejected the chip from the computer and slipped it between a few of the pages of the journal, closing it.

Lewis took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. He had quite the headache after staring at a computer screen for over five hours straight, never taking his eyes from his work. His fingers cramped slightly, and he felt like he could go to sleep and not wake up for three days.

Worry still nagged at him like a fresh mosquito bite. Were Wilbur and Krys alright? What had Cleo done to them? Were they still disappearing?

Would he ever see them again?

He felt anger flare up at this thought. If Cleo had hurt his future son and granddaughter in any way...

Suddenly, he heard a loud knock on the door, and Cleo entered. She was smiling smugly, knowing that now she would finally get what she wanted, thanks to her two bargaining chips.

"Good morning, Cornelius. Sleep well?" She asked, noting the dark circles under Lewis's eyes.

Lewis glared at her.

"No, I was up finishing your virus all night." He said irritably.

"Ah, good. It's finished, then, I take it?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Excellent!" Cleo said. "Where is it?"

Lewis reluctantly picked up the computer chip from the desk and held it out to her. "Here." He said. "Now what have you done with my friends?"

Cleo reached out and took it. She smiled at him again. "Very good, little Cornelius."

"There's your stupid virus!" Lewis spat. "Now let my friends go!"

"Oh, you mean the two that showed up here last night?"

"Yes, them!"

"I'm so very sorry, but I'm afraid I still can't let them go. You see, we are anything but finished here."

"What do you mean?"

"I still have to activate it." Cleo replied. "And you're going to help me."

"The deal was I would finish your virus and you'd let my friends go! I finished the virus, so I expect you to keep your side of the bargain and let my friends go! _Now!_"

"Ah, well you see, I'm afraid I'm going to have to break our little deal for now. I need you to activate the virus. Once you've done that, I'll let both you and your little friends go. Does that sound good to you?"

Lewis crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "No." He said.

"That's the deal. Take it or leave it."

Lewis thought about it for a minute. He had to believe that Wilbur and Krys were alright, and he knew that if he wanted it to remain that way, he would have to comply to Cleo's wishes. Sighing, he uncrossed his arms and turned his back to Cleo.

"Fine." He said. "I'll do it."

"I knew you'd see it my way." Cleo said. "Now come on! We're leaving in ten minutes."

"Alright, just give me a minute to..." Lewis was about to reach over and grab the journal with the antivirus stuck in its pages when Cleo yanked him away by his arm.

"Now!" She said. "If you want to see your friends again, you'll hurry up! It's not like you have anything to get together, anyway."

She dragged him down the stairs to the kitchen, where Kevin and Donna sat at the kitchen table. A disheveled Anthony sat at the table as well, and from his unkempt hair and the bags under his eyes, he too hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

"Hurry up, you two." Cleo said to Kevin and Donna. "We're leaving in five minutes."

"Stop rushing us, Cleo, we'll be ready." Donna said. "You'd think the world was coming to an end the way you're hurrying us along this morning!"

"Just be ready to leave in five minutes." Cleo snapped. She looked at Anthony. "Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Anthony nodded. "I didn't sleep that well last night." He said. "I'll meet up with you all in DC after you activate the virus tomorrow."

"Alright, then." Cleo said.

"What about my friends?" Lewis asked. "You never answered my question. What have you done with Krys and Wilbur?"

"They're fine, and if all goes well, you'll see them again shortly." Cleo answered. "Now come on!" She grabbed his arm again and hustled him out the door. "Five minutes!" She called over her shoulder to Kevin and Donna.

She dragged him outside to a blue minivan, which she promptly shoved him into. She climbed into the front seat, and started the engine.

"Buckle up." She said.

Lewis did as he was told. He chewed his bottom lip nervously. What was he going to do? The antivirus was on back on his desk upstairs, stuck in between the pages of the journal that contained all the virus and antivirus code information! How was he going to stop the virus from spreading without that journal?

Kevin and Donna walked out the door before too much longer, Anthony following in tow. Kevin climbed in the backseat with Lewis, while Donna climbed into the front passanger seat. Anthony came up to his sister's window, and Cleo rolled it down.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" She asked.

Anthony nodded. "I'm sure." He said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright." Cleo said. "Get some sleep, Tony."

"Be careful, Cle." Anthony said. He looked in the backseat at Lewis. "Good luck, kid."

Lewis gave Anthony a curt nod. Anthony turned back to his sister.

"See ya later."

"See you tomorrow, little brother." Cleo said. With that, she rolled up her window, and the car started to move away from the house. Lewis looked back at it as they moved down the driveway, much like he did when Anthony had first kidnapped him a week before.

_Please let Krys and Wilbur be alright! _He silently prayed. _And please let them find the journal! _

Meanwhile, Anthony watched, hands in his jeans pockets, as Cleo's blue minivan rolled down the driveway. He knew that the kid - Lewis, he had said his name was - was doomed after he activated that virus. Anthony's conscience was already biting him, and he knew he would never be able to live with himself if he let Cleo do away with him.

Turning on his heel, Anthony walked back into the house.

He knew what he had to do.

--In the basement--

Krys knew she was flickering, even in the darkness of the basement. She couldn't see it, but she knew her arms, legs, and torso were flickering by the way she felt as though she were going over a steep hill on a roller coaster, and was experiencing the weightless feeling before you come crashing back to earth in the fall. It was almost like she was floating while still on the ground.

On her shoulder, Wilbur was talking softly in his sleep. She had only been up a little while, but already she had heard everything from talking Christmas trees to Donut Fairies to evil clowns. Wilbur had some really strange dreams...

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Mommy!" Wilbur muttered. "It's come to give us all candy!"

"Oh brother." Krys mumbled to herself. "What does this boy have going on in that head of his?" She shrugged his head off her shoulder, which was losing feeling. "Wake up!" She said.

"Huh?" Wilbur asked groggily. "What? Where are we? What time is it?"

"We're still in the basement of Lewis's kidnappers." Krys said. "And how should I know what time it is? I don't have my watch, and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to see it!"

Wilbur yawned. "Sorry." He said. "So we're still in Pshyco Lady's basement?"

"Apparently." Krys said.

"Have you come up with an escape plan yet?" Wilbur asked. Krys shook her head, though she knew that in the darkness of the basement, he couldn't see her.

"Not yet." She said. "There has to be _something_ we can do…"

"Sh!" Wilbur said. "I think someone's coming."

Just then, the door at the top of the staircase opened, sending a beam of blinding light across the floor of the basement. Wilbur and Krys winced and closed their eyes tightly, trying to block out the light. They slowly blinked their eyes open to see one of Cleo's guy friends – Anthony, Cleo called him – coming down the stairs. In his hand, he held a knife.

Wilbur and Krys gulped and exchanged a nervous glance. Anthony walked towards them, the knife still clenched firmly in his fist, a determined look on his face. The two teens squeezed their eyes shut again and screamed.

Anthony suddenly clamped his hands down on their mouths, startling them both. They continued to scream, though muffled.

"Stop screaming, would you?!" Anthony said. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

Wilbur and Krys stopped screaming and looked at Anthony, surprise evident in their eyes.

"I'm going to take my hands off your mouths now. _Please_ don't scream. I have a headache."

The teens nodded, and Anthony pulled his hands away.

"Thank you." He said.

"Let me get this straight. If you're not here to kill us," Wilbur said, eyeing the knife as Anthony stooped to pick it up from where he had dropped it on the floor. "Then what are you doing here?"

Anthony walked behind them, and grabbed Krys's wrists. He began to saw at the ropes.

"Look, I've already kidnapped one kid." He said. "I'm not going to have two more on my conscience."

"You mean, you're letting us go?" Krys asked.

Anthony finished cutting the ropes that held her prisoner and tossed the ropes to the ground before he began work on Wilbur's. "I'm helping you find your friend, too." He said. "I never wanted to kidnap the kid in the first place, and after hearing what Cleo plans to do with him…"

"Cleo? You mean Pshyco Lady?" Wilbur interrupted as the last of his bonds were cut.

"That's her." Anthony said, nodding. "She's my twin sister."

"What does she want with Lewis?" Krys asked.

"Cleo had me kidnap your friend and bring him here to build a computer virus that will be able to hack into any database on the planet. We knew that if anyone could create it, your friend could."

"But why does she want a computer virus that powerful?" Krys said. "Is she out for world domination or something?"

"Something like that." Anthony said. "She really just wants to find our father. The government took him from us when we were little. Ever since then, Cleo's sworn to find a way to find him, but we've never been able to get any information out of them."

"But how will the virus help her do that?" Wilbur asked.

"She plans to use the virus to hack into the government's private files. Nothing big, just the National Archives. Think of it as a warning shot being fired from a gun. She's doing it just to prove that she can, and if they don't give her what she wants, she'll hack into the Pentagon."

"But if she hacks into the Pentagon, she really will have supreme power, at least over the American government!" Wilbur said.

"Exactly." Anthony said.

"But what is she going to do with Lewis?" Krys pressed. _And why are we still fading?_

Anthony chewed his bottom lip nervously for a moment. "She's going to get rid of him." He said finally.

"You mean…" Wilbur started.

Anthony nodded. "Yes."

Wilbur and Krys looked at each other, sudden realization dawning on both of them.

"We have to stop her!" Wilbur said.

"She just left about fifteen minutes ago for the airport." Anthony said. "By the time we catch up to her, they'll be well on their way to Washington DC."

"Crap!" Krys said. She grabbed Wilbur's arm and pulled him across the room to the staircase. "Wilbur, we have to tell Anthony we're from the future."

"What?!" Wilbur said. "Are you crazy?!"

"We don't have a choice!" Krys said. "He's the only hope we've got of getting Lewis back, and we have to trust him! He _did_ let us go."

"Yeah, but…"

"Besides," Krys interrupted him. "He's going to notice our 'little problem' before too much longer anyway. We _have_ to tell him."

Wilbur sighed. As usual, his future daughter was right. She must have inherited that from Franny…

"Fine." He said.

The two teens walked back over to Anthony. "We need your help." Krys said. "But there's something we have to tell you first."

"What is it?" Anthony asked.

Wilbur held up his hand as it flickered. Anthony's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"W-What's up with your hand?!" He asked.

"See, that's what we have to tell you about." Wilbur said. "We're from the future. We're not really cousins as we keep telling everybody, and Lewis isn't just our friend. He's my future father. My name's Wilbur Robinson, and I'm from the year 2038."

"And I'm Krys Robinson. I'm from the year 2067. Wilbur is my future father." Krys added. "Lewis is my future grandfather."

"And the future's in danger. We think Lewis's kidnapping might have something to do with it." Wilbur continued. "We're starting to flicker out of existence."

"And if we don't find and rescue Lewis soon, we'll disappear forever!" Krys said. "That's why we need YOUR help."

"Can you help us?"

Anthony stared at the two for a long time, blinking in confusion. Then he opened his mouth and said, "Let me make sure I've got this." He pointed to Wilbur. "You're Lewis's future son from the year 2038, and your name's Wilbur?"

Wilbur nodded.

Anthony pointed to Krys. "And your name is Krys, and you're Wilbur's future daughter from the year 2067, making Lewis your grandfather?"

"Yep." Krys said.

"And you need me," Anthony pointed to himself. "To help you guys stop fading?"

"Exactly!" The two said together.

Anthony closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "I must be dreaming."

"Trust me, Anthony, you're not dreaming." Wilbur said.

"I really wish you hadn't said that." Anthony groaned.

"Look, we've got to get going!" Krys said. "Introductions on the way out. Come on!"

Anthony stopped rubbing his temples and nodded, following the two teens up the stairs.

The three emerged in the hallway. Anthony pointed to his left. "This way!"

"Hold on." Wilbur said. He looked at Krys. "Do you still have the hand-held tracking device?"

Krys nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"What about Lewis's hair you found back in the car?"

Krys patted her jacket pocket and reached inside, pulling the yellow toothpick-like hair out and holding it up. Wilbur took it.

"Where's the tracking device?"

Krys patted down her pockets again, then her jeans. "Gah, it must have fallen out of my pocket back in the room where Cleo was keeping Lewis!" She said. "Let's go!"

The three sped up the flight of stairs towards Lewis's prison. Krys ran up the little stairs into the attic while Wilbur rummaged through the papers littered on Lewis's desk, in case he might have found it and picked it up.

In his haste, Wilbur knocked over an old leather bound book. It hit the floor with a _thump_. Wilbur stopped flitting through the papers and picked the book back up, flipping through its pages.

He suddenly noticed that the pages were all written in some sort of code.

Computer code.

"Found it!" He heard Krys yell triumphantly from the attic. She climbed back down the ladder.

"I think I found something, too!" Wilbur said. "Come here!"

Krys hurried to her best friend's side. "What is it?" She asked. Wilbur showed her the book.

"Look!" He said, pointing to a page. "I think Lewis wrote down all the virus information in here!"

Krys grinned. "Way to go, Grandad!" She said. She flipped through a few of the pages, suddenly skipping quite a few pages, as if the binding was broken, or…like there was something stuck between the pages, something thick.

There, right in front of her, was a small blue microchip. Scribbled on the top of the page it was sitting on was the word _antivirus._

"Antivirus." She and Wilbur said together.

"Lewis made an antivirus!" Wilbur said, grinning.

"I knew that kid was a genius." Anthony said, coming up beside the two. They looked at him, the 'duh' evident in their eyes.

"That means if we can catch up to them, even after they've injected the virus, we can still stop them and save the future!" Krys said. "But we have to hurry." She turned to Anthony. "Which way is the backdoor?" She asked.

"That way." Anthony said, pointing out the door. "Down the stairs, to the right."

The future father-daughter duo took off running towards the door, down the stairs, and headed for the backdoor, throwing it open. Without bothering to close the it behind them, they took off towards the two trees at the far end of the yard. Krys flung herself into the front seat of the time machine, Wilbur following close behind. Anthony stopped dead in his tracks in astonishment for a minute to see the teenagers seemingly floating in mid air.

"Wha…?" He started. "How are you doing that?!"

Krys pushed the cloaking button on the panel in front of her, and the time machine materialized right in front of Anthony.

"Whoa!" He said.

"Climb in." Krys said, sitting herself down in the driver's seat and buckling herself in, Wilbur following in tow in the front seat beside her. Anthony hauled himself up onto the time machine's wing and into the backseat. Krys started the machine. She looked at the gas meter in front of her.

"Wilbur, we're going to need to change the fuel tube before we can go! We don't have enough to get us all the way to Washington DC at the speed we're going to have to go." Wilbur nodded and unbuckled his seat belt.

"I'm on it!" He hopped down onto the ground. "Anthony, look under the seat and get that tube of green stuff and hand it to me!"

Anthony did as he was told and looked under his seat, grabbing the full fuel tube and handing it down to Wilbur. Wilbur took it and opened the time machine's fuel cap, pulling out the other tube of Mountain Dew looking liquid. There was about an eighth left. He handed it up to Anthony and proceeded to place the full tube in its place. He shut the cap and hopped back in the time machine. Krys closed the hatch.

"Buckle your seatbelts, boys, and hold on." She said, flashing a grin at Wilbur. "It's going to be a bumpy ride."

With that, she lifted off into the air, and floored the gas pedal, speeding off into the east, the tracking device showing them the way.

They had to act fast.

Wilbur and Krys flickered again.

They knew they didn't have much time.

* * *

**Well, there's your update you all have been anxiously awaiting! :)**

**Review, please! Thankies!**


	17. Between The Ticks of The Clock

**When I first started this story, I never expected it to actually last THROUGH 2009! Yeesh, I need to get back on top of things!**

**So I haven't touched this story in a grand total of five months...my bad.**

**A lot has happened in those five months, let me tell you! A semi-not-so-complete-list would be this: 1.) Got my driver's license, 2.) Found out my boyfriend was a complete womanizer, 3.) Got my heart ripped to pieces because of number two, 4.) Went to New York City, 5.) Caught the flu, and we'll wrap it up with 6.) Went to choir festival. Junior year has also been kicking me in the pants (ask any of my classmates) and so it's been a hastle to keep up my grades up as well as I have (except chemistry, which has proved to be the worst class on the face of the earth, seriously. I am failing. The first class I have ever failed while giving it my best shot. Ugh.)**

**So I thank you all for waiting so long! I promise not to take five months to update again!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: Between The Ticks of The Clock

--Somewhere near Washington D.C., 5000 feet--

"We'll be landing in about thirty minutes." Donna said over her shoulder from the cockpit of the plane. "Prepare for landing."

Lewis swallowed as he stared out the window next to him. He hadn't said a word since he and the others had taken off hours ago; he had merely stared out the window at the passing clouds and ground beneath them, trying to keep himself together.

He didn't have the antivirus.

And his best friends were back in California in the basement of Cleo Wilson's house, flickering and fading in and out of existence more and more by the minute.

What if they were gone already? What if, just like in his surprisingly prophetic nightmare, they had been sucked out of existence, and the future Lewis knew and loved was gone, possibly forever?

No.

He wouldn't – couldn't – allow him to think about that. Krys and Wilbur were fine, and he would find a way to save them…somehow.

"Just a little while longer, dear Cornelius," Cleo said from the front with Donna. "And you'll see that little family of yours again."

Lewis didn't say anything, fearing that if he did, he would say something he could come to regret. Cleo was not the person he wanted to tick off at that point in time, not when the lives of Wilbur and Krys hung in the balance.

He turned away from the window, closing his eyes.

He was just about to give in to the comfort unconsciousness offered when he felt the plane begin to descend. Opening his eyes, he saw that Donna was edging the plane lower and lower, about to touch down on a small runway. The plane's wheels grazed the ground roughly before it touched down completely, jolting Lewis and Kevin in the backseat. Lewis's head bumped against the glass of the window, and he winced as he rubbed the point of contact.

"Ow." He muttered.

"Hey, the kid remembers how to speak after all!" Kevin said. Lewis glared at him.

"Don't worry, Cornelius." Cleo said. "It's almost over. All we have to do now is get the rental car I called ahead for, head someplace inconspicuous with internet and a computer, and let you launch the virus. Then you _and _your little friends will be free to go."

Lewis turned his steely glare towards the blonde haired woman. "If my friends weren't a part of this equation, there's no _way_ I'd be doing this." He spat.

Cleo smirked. "I know." She said. "And isn't it convenient that your little friends decided to try and play fireman and rescue you?" She chuckled. "They made great bargaining chips."

Lewis bit his tongue.

The plane slowed, and the engines died below their feet. Donna slipped the headset off her head and stood up. She walked, hunched down, to the door on the side of the plane, and opened it. She hopped out, Cleo and Kevin not far behind. Lewis followed them reluctantly.

Cleo reached back into the plane and pulled a hoodie sweatshirt and a pair of sunglasses from somewhere inside, probably from under a seat. She threw them at Lewis.

"Put these on." She ordered. "We can't have anyone recognizing you, now can we?"

Lewis did as he was told and slipped the hoodie over his head, covering his spiky blonde hair with the good. He slipped on the dark sunglasses, and Cleo nodded her approval.

Donna closed the door of the plane and the four of them walked off across the runway towards a small tan car that waited on the other side. A tall man in a black business suit stood in front of it, his hands behind his back.

"Cleo Wilson?" The man asked as they approached.

Cleo nodded. "Yes." She said. "Is this the car I called for?"

The man nodded. "All gassed up and ready for you." He said. He held out a keychain with a shiny key and fob remote hanging from it. Cleo took it and smiled.

"Thank you." She said. "Let's go, gang. We have some business to take care of!"

She climbed in the front seat of the car, behind the wheel. Lewis, his legs still stiff and wobbly from sitting on the plane so long, slide reluctantly into the backseat with Donna.

Cleo started the car, and they pulled away from the runway and onto a small road, heading towards the heart of the city.

--Somewhere above Washington D.C.--

"There!" Krys said, pointing to the small plane on the runway. "There they are!"

"Yeah, getting away!" Wilbur agreed, also pointing, but at a small tan car pulling away from the hanger. "They've got a car!"

"Dang it!" Krys said. She looked around for a good place to land the time machine where it would not get run over by a plane taking off with its cloaking device on. Finding a spot near the end of a runway, Krys landed, and opened the hatch. She, Wilbur, and Anthony quickly jumped out, running across the empty runway towards a tall man walking back towards the main building.

"Wait!" Krys called. "Stop!"

The man turned and saw two teenagers and a man about in his mid twenties running towards him.

Where had they come from?

The trio stopped in front of him, panting for breath.

"That woman, that woman you just lent that car to," Anthony said, urgently. "Was her name Cleo Wilson?"

The businessman nodded. "Yes." He said. "Why?"

"Listen, we don't much time to explain." Wilbur said, speaking up. "Did she have a kid about our age with her?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. Had on a hoodie and sunglasses, so I couldn't see his face clearly, but he was young, like you."

"That boy was Cornelius Robinson." Said Krys. "And she kidnapped him a little over a week ago."

The businessman's eyes grew wide.

"It couldn't have been." He said.

"It was." Anthony assured him. "And we need to catch up with them as fast as possible. Do you have another car we can use?"

The man nodded. "One of my coworkers followed me so I could get a ride back to work. Follow me."

He led them around the building to the front where a black Chevy waited. He walked around to the driver's side and spoke to the figure inside. A few moments later, Anthony was behind the wheel, Krys and Wilbur in the backseat.

"Good luck!" The man said.

"Thanks." The three said, and Anthony put the car in reverse, backing the car out carefully before slamming his foot down on the pedal and peeling out of the parking lot, racing after the tan car that was now out of their line of vision.

"Hurry!" Wilbur said, holding up his hand. "We're fading again!"

"And it's getting worse!" Krys said. "I'm starting to feel the effects."

She no longer felt the weightlessness she had experienced before whenever she would flicker. No, now she felt as though someone had kicked her in the stomach, and her head felt heavy all of a sudden. After a moment, the feeling was gone, and she felt almost normal again, despite the adrenalin coursing through her every vein.

"Yeah, I feel it too." Wilbur said. He looked around. "Which way did they go?"

Krys pulled the handheld tracking devise from her belt and looked at it.

"Left!" She said. "They went left!"

Anthony, without bothering to use a turn signal or even slow down, turned the car left, sending Wilbur and Krys crashing into each other.

"Ow!" Krys complained. "Seatbelts might not be a bad idea."

Wilbur nodded. "Yeah." He said, and the two quickly clicked their belts around them.

Anthony stopped at a stop sign. "Which way?" He asked.

Krys looked down. "Left again!" She said.

Anthony made the turn, and they soon came to a small four-way street. Krys instructed Anthony to go straight, and he did, and then turned right on Krys's command.

"Look!" Wilbur said. "It's the car!"

There, a few yards in front of them, parked in front of a small cybercafé, was the tan car they had seen driving away from the hanger.

Krys looked down at the tracking device. "It's them!" She confirmed.

Anthony quickly drove the car forward, and parked right behind the tan car. The three jumped out.

Suddenly, Wilbur's knees gave out underneath him as he opened his door out into the street, and he fell to the pavement, clutching his stomach. A car was coming right towards him.

"Wilbur!" Krys screamed, racing forward, fighting a sudden wave of nausea as she did so. She grabbed Wilbur's upper arms and hauled him away from the middle of the street, just as the car raced past. She dropped him on the sidewalk, and knelt next to him.

"Dad!" She said, urgently. "Dad!" She looked down and saw that Wilbur's legs were flickering, and when she looked at her own legs, she saw that they mimicked the same action.

"I'm okay!" Wilbur said after a moment. "But we need to hurry! I think Lewis is activating the virus!"

Anthony helped the two to their feet and they set off towards the cybercafé. Throwing open the doors, they rushed inside, frantically searching for Cleo Wilson and Lewis.

"They're not here!" Krys said. "It was a trick!"

Anthony walked up to the lady at the bar. "Excuse me, but did you see a two women with blonde and brown hair, and a guy about my age and a boy about their age come in?" He pointed back to Wilbur and Krys.

The lady shook her head. "Sorry." She said. "Haven't seen them."

Wilbur groaned and slapped his forehead. Krys frowned and looked back at the tracking device.

"Hold on." She said. "Do you have a bathroom in here, by chance? Or a wreck room?"

The lady nodded. "Yes. The bathrooms are through that door," she pointed to a door to their left. "And down the hall, next to the wreck room. Why?"

Wilbur caught on. "Is there a computer in the staff room?"

The lady nodded again. "Yes." She said, a little confused.

Without a word, Wilbur and Krys raced through the door and down the hall. They raced past the bathrooms and ran right into the wreck room.

There, on the other side of the room, stood Cleo Wilson, Donna, and Kevin, all with their backs to the two teens. In front of them sat Lewis, a maroon sweatshirt's hood covering his hair.

"STOP!" Wilbur yelled.

Cleo spun around, and while Lewis tried to, Kevin kept him turned towards the computer, forcing him to continue typing.

Cleo's eyes widened at the sight of her former hostages. "How did you get here?" She demanded.

Anthony stepped into the room.

"Tony!"

"Sorry, Cle." Anthony said. "But you've done enough."

"Let him go!" Krys said, taking a step forward. "Let Lewis go!"

Cleo glanced over her shoulder and grinned evilly.

"Why would I do that?" She asked. "He's nearly finished with my virus."

"Let him go." Wilbur said, taking up for his daughter. "Now."

"No can do." Cleo said. She yelled over her shoulder. "Activate it!"

Lewis's finger slammed down on the 'enter' key on the keyboard. Wilbur and Krys felt fire course through their bodies, and they both cried out in pain as they went down. Wilbur glanced up at Lewis, who had turned around in his chair.

"Dad…" He whispered. "Help us."

"I'm sorry, Wilbur." Lewis said, emotionally. "I tried."

Wilbur reached into his pocket and brought out the antivirus. He tossed it to Lewis, who caught it.

"We found the antivirus." Krys said. "Use it! Now!"

Lewis grinned and quickly turned around in his chair. He took the chip with the virus out of the computer and quickly replaced it with the antivirus. He began to type furiously.

"What?" Cleo demanded. "What antivirus? What are you doing, Cornelius?"

"It's over, Cleo." Anthony said. "You've lost."

Lewis stopped typing, his index finger hovering over the 'enter' key again.

"Sorry, Cleo." He said. "But you never should have underestimated my best friends."

With that, he hit the key, and Wilbur and Krys's worlds faded into black.

* * *

**Wow...my writing style sure has changed since I first started this story! I think it's helped with it, honestly. (Those stupid literary analysis papers I have to write for English help, too...ugh. ****Catcher in the Rye**** about killed me...)**


	18. Light Switch

**Kay, I've got good news, and I've got bad news.**

**The bad news is, this story is almost over! Hard to believe, I know. There were times when I thought I would never finish it!**

**The good news is, I'm updating! Yay!**

**I hope this chappie made sense...I was hoping to clarify a few things, and update just a little. Things have not been what I would call smooth lately...I recently wrapped up a month and a half long babysitting job working three days a week from three to eight usually, and I finished up my junior year of high school not even a week ago! I am now officially a senior, and I am so proud I made it. :)**

**EDIT: I edited the ending of the chapter, since I was unhappy with the original version. Sorry!**

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Chapter Eighteen: Light Switch

--2067--

Krys groaned as she fought her way back to consciousness. She blinked open her eyes, only to find the world around her blurry, and she sat up, rubbing away the sleep. She suddenly realized, even without a clear picture, that she was most definitely no longer in the wreck room of the cybercafé in Washington DC. No, in fact, she was no where near that. She was in her room, _her _room, in 2067. She was in _her _bed, in _her_ room, in _her _time.

How she had gotten there, she was not sure.

Krys rubbed her suddenly throbbing temples in soothing circles as she tried to think. The last thing she remembered was being in the wreck room with Cleo Wilson and Lewis, and Lewis activating the virus. Wilbur gave him the antivirus, and he hit a key on the keyboard, and everything went black.

She realized Lewis must have activated the antivirus, and that had caused everything to go back to normal, causing the paradox to be erased, and the space time continuum to become smooth once again. Because of the effects the paradox was having on her and Wilbur before, when everything was sorted out, she and Wilbur both must have fainted, and her father must have showed up in one of the time machines and got them.

Krys reached over to the shelf where her glasses lay and slipped the purple frames onto her nose. The room suddenly became much clearer, and Krys smiled.

Ah, it was good to be home!

Then she remembered Wilbur, and Lewis, and she quickly hurried out of her loft bed to the floor. Jess was no where to be seen, which must have meant that she was with the rest of the family, and ran to the door, yanking it open. She ran out into the familiar halls, towards the living room.

Suddenly, she collided with something solid, and found herself lying on her back. She sat up and rubbed her head, glaring at the figure in front of her.

"Wilbur!"

Wilbur grinned crookedly from his similar position a few feet in front of her. He was dressed in a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a black t-shirt, and Krys could tell he hadn't brushed his hair from the various cowlicks conflicting with his usual one. She suddenly realized that her own cowlick was in no better condition, and she smiled back at her best friend as she got to her feet. Krys herself was in her orange silk pajamas with the yellow polka dots, and she figured Cassie must have helped her into them...

"Heh...hi, Krys." Wilbur said, also jumping to his feet. "Um...any idea how we got here?"

Krys shook her head. "Not a clue. Last thing I remember was fainting in the wreck room of the cybercafé. Dad must have come and gotten us..."

"What exactly happened? The last thing I remembered was Anthony telling Cleo it was over and Lewis activating the antivirus..."

"We fainted." Krys said. "That's the only logical explanation I can come up with. The space time continuum must have gone back to normal, and Dad must have come and gotten us." She held up her hands and grinned. "And we're not flickering anymore, and I feel a lot better than I did. What about you?"

Wilbur nodded. "Much." He said.

Suddenly, Krys found herself back on the floor, Jess on top of her, licking her face with her big, rough tongue happily. Krys laughed and pushed the lioness off of her.

"Jess, Jess, get off!" She said. After a moment, Jess retreated back into a sitting position and allowed Krys to sit up. Krys grinned and hugged the lioness around the neck. "I missed you, too, girl." She said.

"Hey, what about me?!" Wilbur said. "Not that I like being knocked to the ground and licked to death, but..."

Jess cut him off by knocking him over and licking his face all over with her rough tongue.

"Hey! I didn't really mean it!" Wilbur yelled.

Krys giggled.

"You asked for it!" She said, pulling Jess off of him. "Jess is very literal."

"I noticed." Wilbur grumbled as Krys helped him to his feet.

"C'mon. I think we should probably go find the others and show them we're alright."

Wilbur nodded and the two walked side by side down the hall towards the living room. Rounding the corner, they could hear voices as they approached.

"The flickering's stopped." They heard Cornelius' voice. "I think it's safe to say that this is behind us."

"But Wilbur and Krys haven't woken up yet!" Carl said. "How do we know everything's really going to be okay?"

"Because _I'm _awake, Carl." Older Wilbur's voice said. "Which must mean that my younger self is fine and kicking."

Murmurs of agreement rose from the rest of the family, and that's when the dynamic duo decided to make their entrance.

"Wilbur, Krys!" Lewis was the first to greet them. "You're alright!"

The three shared a group hug, stepping back after a minute.

"Yep!" Wilbur said. "A little stiff, but fine!"

"Good to hear, son." Cornelius said, coming up to pat his son's shoulder.

"What exactly happened?" Krys asked. "The last thing I remember was..."

"Blacking out in the wreck room at the cybercafe in Washington DC?" Her father finished for her.

Krys nodded.

"That's an easy one." Older Wilbur said. "For the past week, the space-time continuum has been in a state of flux, which was what was causing us to flicker. Cleo Wilson was never supposed to kidnap Lewis, but because of our meddling with time, it caused a tiny paradox to occur. We were blinking out of existence, albeit slowly, because as time for Lewis went on, his timeline - and ours - began to break down. It's no secret Cleo had every intention of getting rid of Lewis when she was through with him, and I don't mean by taking him home. Cleo knew that once she had control of the country, she could do whatever she wanted, and that included having someone take out Lewis. But when we gave him the antivirus, it not only erased the virus from existence, but it helped save our own, because it didn't grant Cleo the power she wanted, thus she did not kill Lewis. Which means that..."

"The time continuum is back to normal?" His younger self said.

Older Wilbur nodded. "Exactly."

"So, because of the virus, it caused Wilbur and Krys to flicker because if I hadn't created and activated the antivirus, Cleo would have killed me?" Lewis asked.

"Think of it like a light switch." Cassie said from her place on the couch next to her husband. "Every day that went by in Lewis's time was a flicker of the light switch, because it rippled time just a little bit more. But then it was resolved, and the annoying child flicking the switch was taken away, and the flickering stopped."

The three teens nodded, understandingly.

"But, what happens next?" Wilbur asked. "What happens to Cleo?"

"Cleo was apprehended by the police." Cornelius said. "She was taken into custody for my kidnapping, and two counts of premeditated murder for the two of you. Wilbur promised to take us home, and he will. He'll take us back just a few hours after Cleo was arrested, so they'll never know."

"And Anthony?"

"He was never involved, as far as the police are concerned." Cornelius answered. "I told them everything. I had to tell them that Anthony kidnapped me, but I then told him that he had helped the two of you escape and follow us. They decided that the change of heart was fine enough. Besides, being a world famous inventor had its advantages..."

"But it's over now." Cassie said. "And the three of you are safe. The light's back on."

"Then can we all get something to eat?" Wilbur asked. "I'm starving!"

Krys poked him in the side. "You and that stomach of yours!" She joked.

"Hey!"

"There's waffles in the kitchen." Franny said. "Help yourselves."

"Thanks, Gran." Krys said as they walked out of the room.

Krys led the way down the winding hallways, and finally they found the kitchen. Reaching into the lev-tray, she pulled out three waffles and stuck them in the toaster. They popped out onto a plate, and Krys splattered them with peanut butter and jelly. She sat a plate in front of Lewis and Wilbur, who waited patiently at the counter for her.

"So," Wilbur said, his mouth full. "What happens next?"

"I guess I go home." Lewis said. "I can't keep my parents worrying, can I?"

"Guess not." Krys said, taking a bite of her own waffles. "I've got to say, though, this trip wasn't all bad."

"Yeah." Wilbur agreed. "We didn't die, and reality didn't fall apart, so all in all, I'd say it was a good trip!"

Krys rolled her eyes, but she had to admit that Wilbur was right. "I mean, I think it brought us all a little closer together. Wilbur and I definitely got some father-daughter time!"

"Almost too much of it." Wilbur muttered. He took another bite of waffles, then grinned slyly. "By the way, Krys," he said. "Who's this Matt guy you keep talking about?"

Krys frowned. "Matt, wha-" She stopped. "You. Didn't."

Wilbur ran for his life.


	19. Then You Stand

**So. The last time I updated this story (-cough-threeYEARSago-cough-) I had just finished my junior year of high school...**

**I'm a junior in college now! How time flies, right?**

**To explain why it took me so long to finally finish this story (-cough-threeyears-cough-) the only possible explanation I have is a change of interest. My fandoms changed faces, many times over, and this story somehow found itself lost. I'm unsure, exactly, how, but it did. However, the good news is, I found it, and I hate to leave anything unfinished if I can absolutely help it, so I sat down and wrote the final chapter of this poor story tonight. I sure hope I did the rest of the story justice here, because somehow I feel like it doesn't. I feel like I've lost touch with how I used to write, as a teen, and no matter how hard I try to channel into my memories and allow the fifteen year old writing this to resurface, she's gone, and she's been replaced with me. So I apologize if this chapter is crap; I tried. :/**

**Anyway, thank you all for being so patient! I hope you enjoy the finale to _Then You Stand. _:) Thanks for sticking with me! **

**Love, Robi**

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Chapter Nineteen: Then You Stand

-Robinson house, November 26th, 2009-

The time machine gently made its descent to earth, where the wheels made indentations in the snow. The Older Wilbur quickly switched on the invisibility shield, and opened the hatch to the cockpit. He, his younger self, his daughter, and his father's younger self all jumped out into the winter air.

"It doesn't look like much has changed since we left." Younger Wilbur remarked. "How long has it been?"

"A week." Older Wilbur answered him as he adjusted the 2009 police uniform he was wearing as a disguise. He looked at Lewis. "You've been gone that long."

Lewis shook his head.

"It seems like a lifetime." He said, then he smiled as he gazed at the house not far from where they stood. "But I'm glad to be home."

Older Wilbur nodded. "I have no doubt." He said. "Now let's get you home."

Lewis nodded eagerly, and he grinned at his best friends.

"Just one question, though." Younger Wilbur asked as he turned his attention back to his older self. "Dad said in 2067 that Cleo had been taken into custody, and we promised to bring Lewis home. And he said it would be a few hours after the arrest, so no one would ever know…so how are we going to explain getting back here so fast?"

Krys laughed and slapped her hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Let's not get any more headaches than are necessary, please!" She said.

Older Wilbur chuckled, and nodded at his daughter. "She's right. Leave that to me and the TCTF." He said. "Now, as for the other police officers, they're gone. They got the call a few hours ago that you had been found and that an officer by the name of Robinson is bringing Lewis home. So we don't have to worry about convincing anyone other than Grandma and Grandpa that I'm the officer in charge, so try not to stand too close, got it? The last thing we need is any sort of recognition, especially with the two of us – " He looked pointedly at his younger self. "-in the same room."

"Got it…" Younger Wilbur said. "Don't stand too close."

"And deny everything!" Krys added, laughing.

Younger Wilbur opened his mouth to say something, but Krys cut him off by grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward. The trio ran towards the Robinson house, the older Wilbur fast in their wake.

Lewis was the fastest, hastily making his way towards his house, towards his parents, towards his future. He clabbered up the steps to the front door, yanking it open and stomping inside, not bothering to remove his snowy shoes.

"Mom!" He called. "Dad!"

Lucille and Bud appeared immediately from inside the kitchen, their faces lighting up when they saw their son, safe and sound, and finally, finally home.

"Cornelius!" Lucille said, rushing forward to envelope her son in a huge hug. "Oh my god, Cornelius!"

Bud had joined them, hugging the both of them close. "We were so worried!" He said.

"I know." Lewis said, his voice choking with emotion. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Lucille said, and she and Bud released him and stepping back so they could see him. "We're just glad you're safe!"

"I had help." Lewis said. He gestured to Krys and Wilbur. "If it weren't for Wilbur and Krys, I don't know where I'd be. They flew out to California and found me."

Lucille and Bud's attentions were turned to the two teens standing behind Lewis, and then to the police officer in the doorway, who gazed at the reunion with a smile.

"You two?" Lucille asked. "You flew all the way to California…"

"How'd you do that?" Bud asked. "And how'd you find Cornelius?!"

"I told you we had some detective work under our belts!" Krys said proudly. "My dad owns a plane, and he flew us out there." She said, not daring to cast a glance over her shoulder at the man in question, but she did give Wilbur a small grin. "As for finding him, it wasn't easy, but we did it."

"They're brilliant, those two." Older Wilbur said as he stepped forward, just a little. "They led us right to him."

Bud shook Older Wilbur's hand.

"Thank you so much." He said. "For all you've done. Thank you for bringing our son home to us."

Older Wilbur smiled. "As your son said, you should be thanking his two friends. They're the real heroes here, believe me."

Within moments, Lucille had Younger Wilbur and Krys enveloped in a bone crushing hug.

"Thank you both!" She said as tears ran down her cheeks. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Hey, that's what best friends do." Younger Wilbur said.

"But, uh, Mrs. Robinson, could you put us down? We can't…breathe!" Krys gasped.

Lucille immediately relinquished her grip on the two teens, and they took in a few gulps of air before turning back to grin at Lewis.

"Well, I need to be getting Krystal and Wilbur home to their parents." Older Wilbur said. "So I think it's best we say goodbye."

Bud nodded at him, and shook his hand one last time. "Thank you." He said. "I hope we meet again sometime in the future, Officer…" He glanced at Older Wilbur's nametag. "Robinson…huh! What a coincidence!"

"We'll meet again, I'm sure." Older Wilbur assured him. He turned to Krys and Younger Wilbur. "Come on, you two. Your parents are waiting."

The two teens nodded, and turned back to face Lewis. Krys threw her arms around her future grandfather's shoulders and hugged him.

"See you soon, Lewis!" She said.

"Thanks, Krys." Lewis said, grinning. "See you soon."

"Hey, you don't think you can keep us away for very long, do you?" Younger Wilbur said as he, too, grabbed his future father and gave him a noogie.

Lewis laughed and managed to wrestle himself away from his best friend. He gave him a pointed glare that clearly stated _Do that again and you'll end up grounded, mister. _"See ya later, Wilbur." He said before once again allowing himself to smile and punching his future son in the upper arm. "Stay out of trouble!"

"I promise nothing." Wilbur said, grinning. "It's not in my nature."

Krys gave a 'humph'. "That's for sure!" She said.

Younger Wilbur glared at her.

Older Wilbur stepped forward and clasped his hands on their shoulders.

"It's time to go now." He said. "I think the Robinsons want to have some time to themselves, don't you?"

"Yeah, sorry." Younger Wilbur said. He gave one last grin towards Lewis. "See ya."

"Bye, Wilbur." Lucille said. "Don't be a stranger! You either, Krys! You should visit with your cousin more often!"

"I will!" Krys promised as she turned and walked out the front door with the two versions of her father. "Bye!"

With that, the three of them made their way back out into the chilly November air, and slowly made their way around back to the time machine.

"So what happens now?" Younger Wilbur said as they climbed back into the time machine, and Older Wilbur started it up, closing the hatch.

"You go back to 2038 and unfreeze time." His older self said. "Life resumes as usual."

Younger Wilbur nodded. "Then what?"

"Well," Older Wilbur said, grinning at him. "You get grounded."

"What?!" Younger Wilbur yelped. "No way! Not again!"

Older Wilbur laughed. "I'm just kidding." He said. "You wait for the next big blunder to happen, that's what."

Younger Wilbur glared at him. "I never knew I was so cruel." He said. "Giving my own younger self a heart attack! That's just not fair."

Krys giggled, her green eyes sparkling. "Sure it is." She said. "It's hilarious to watch!"

"Haha, very funny." Younger Wilbur said. "You only think it's funny because I read your diary again."

Krys casually took off her glasses and cleaned them with the hem of her shirt. "True." She said. She grinned mischievously. "But you just wait until I find yours."

"I don't keep a diary!" Younger Wilbur said.

"Not yet you don't." Krys said.

Younger Wilbur looked from Krys to his older self.

"I neither deny nor confirm anything." He said before Younger Wilbur could say anything. "I think you're just going to have to find out for yourself."

"Great." Younger Wilbur mumbled. "I had a feeling you were going to say that."

Older Wilbur smirked. "Now you're beginning to get the hang of it." He said. He punched in the coordinates for 2067, and tilted the time machine towards the sky. The familiar bubble formed outside, and before they knew it, the bright skyline of the 2067 Todayland came into view. Older Wilbur carefully maneuvered towards the TCTF Headquarters, where he landed the time machine in the hanger with the others. He opened the hatch, and the three of them exited.

"Alright, you two, let's get upstairs." He said. "I need to debrief everyone before you go back to 2038, Wilbur."

Younger Wilbur nodded.

For a few moments, none of them said anything as they walked towards the travel tubes at the far end of the room, passing Wilbur's time machine that waited for him to take him back to the past as they did so.

And then, Younger Wilbur spoke.

"So, Krys, who _is _this Matt person? Because you seemed pretty smitten with him in that one diary entry I read…something about how beautiful his eyes were?"

His future daughter glared.

"I'll give you to the count of three to start running, mister, because if I catch you, you'll be sorry!" She said.

And with that, Younger Wilbur took off running, Krys not far behind him, screeching as she did so.

"_Wilbur! I'm going to kill you!" _

Older Wilbur chuckled and shook his head.

"I _really _hope I'm fast." He said quietly as he watched his younger self and daughter disappear into the travel tubes. "The last thing I need is another paradox to clean up…"

* * *

**Well, there you have it folks!**

**Again, I thank you for your patience, and your dedication, if you stuck around to see how - and if! - this would ever end. :) **

**Oh, and a special shout out to SkyHighFan for his unfailing dedication to getting me to get off my butt and write! Without him, this never would have been possible (the completion, I mean)! :D**

**Until next time!**


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